


Magic Within His Eyes

by ReadHardandShipMerthur



Series: Magic Within His Eyes [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Arthur - Freeform, F/M, M/M, Merlin - Freeform, Merthur - Freeform, Post-Hogwarts, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-09
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadHardandShipMerthur/pseuds/ReadHardandShipMerthur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur Pendragon is ready for his last year at Hogwarts. As Head Boy and Captain and preparing to take NEWTs for being an Auror, he's pretty much has everything together. Little does he know that his life will soon be overturned by not only by some sinister events outside of Hogwarts, but also by a mysterious person that no one knows that much about....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Seventh Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic series, and here is the first part! You can see the progress of this series along with some background information at http://sammyjay29.livejournal.com This one is a bit short, and I hope to make the others longer than this one. You can leave what you think in the comments, on my tumblr, http://www.thedoctorandjethro.tumblr.com and/or the livejournal! I hope you enjoy and will stay tuned for the next one!

As Arthur boarded Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 and 3/4 for the seventh time of his life, he could only think of the words his father had last said to him before he left. It was the same words every year, with the same sour expression on his face.

“Do not disappoint me,” Uther would say in a low tone before Arthur got on the train, in which Arthur always answered with the same, submissive tone. “I won’t, Father.” To Arthur, he felt he had always been a disappointment to his father, ever since he was Sorted into Gryffindor. Generations and generations of Pendragons had been Sorted into the House of Slytherin, and Arthur was the first Pendragon to be in Gryffindor. As soon as Arthur’s father had heard about it, he had written a letter to the headmaster, Professor Kilgharrah, asking if some sort of mistake had been made, and asked if the Professor would make a special exception for Arthur to be Sorted again. Arthur could remember that embarrassing moment when Mistress Alice, the school nurse, told him the headmaster wanted to see him and took him off to the office. He had blushed with embarrassment the whole way up to the headmaster’s office. When he arrived there, the headmaster had shown him the letter that his father had sent to the Professor Kilgharrah. He explained to Arthur that there are no special exceptions for any students when it came to Sorting. A young, blushing Arthur had reddened even more when he had heard what his father had done. When he had gotten home the summer after his first year at Hogwarts, his father had some choice words he wanted to say about the House he was Sorted in.

“How could you have been Sorted into Gryffindor!” Uther had yelled at Arthur, “Years and years of Pendragons have been in Slytherin and then you go and get yourself into Sorted in Gryffindor!!”

“I’m sorry, Father!” had cried a young Arthur, hating that he displeased his father. “I didn’t mean to, I don’t know what I did wrong!”

“I’ll tell you what you did wrong,” had snarled Uther. “I’ve been too soft on you. I’ve let you have your own way. That’s going to end right now!” 

“I’ll try my best to please you, Father!” had said a young Arthur. Ever since then, Arthur had given it 150% all the time, and excelled in everything he did. He became prefect at Hogwarts, joined the Quidditch team his second year and became an excellent Beater, and he had received all “Outstanding” on his OWLs. But nothing he did would even make Uther smile. Arthur was beginning to think nothing ever would.

“Oi!” shouted a voice as Arthur got on the train. He recognized the voice of one his closest friends and his fellow teammate on the Quidditch team, Gwaine Campton . Gwaine had known Arthur ever since their Sorting and had cheered Arthur up with his silly antics when Arthur was not sorted into Slytherin. They had remained friends ever since, and tried out for the Quidditch team together.

“Blimey, do you have to yell so loud, Gwaine?” complained Arthur, but he had a smile on his face. Arthur had quickly forgotten the harsh tones of his father, and began to enjoy himself .

“You weren’t thinking of getting a cart without me, were you?” asked Gwaine.

“Actually, I have to go find the prefect cart.” 

“I’d forgotten that you’d been made Head Boy. That doesn’t mean you’ll be giving me detention all the time then, yeah?”

“Only if you stay in line,” Arthur said in a mock stern voice. He knew he could never put Gwaine in detention. There are plenty of other people who could do the job. 

“Well, when you get back from your Head Boy duties, come find me and the gang, yeah? We need to discuss Quidditch tactics for this year! We may have won the Cup last year, but I heard Slytherin has a new Seeker, and I heard he’s something good! We might have to try this year!” Gwaine said with a smirk.

Arthur rolled his eyes at Gwaine, said a quick good-bye, and went off to find the cart, which was supposed to be at the front of the train.

~

Arthur’s head was throbbing with information with all the duties that came along with being a Head Boy. He went to go find his mates in a cart, but he realized that Gwaine didn’t tell him what part they would be in. He would have to check every cart then. 

“Hello, Arthur,” said a coy voice from behind him. Arthur turned around, knowing who it would be.

“Morgana. How was your trip over here?”

“Oh, it was quite bothersome. I’m sure I got Floo powder in my clothes.” 

“I don’t see any Floo powder on you.”

“Oh, of course you don’t, Arthur. But then again, you never were that attentive, were you?” 

“That’s not true!” Arthur replied hotly.

“Oh, calm down, Arthur, I’m only teasing you! I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I heard that Slytherin’s team has a new Seeker. My friend Morgause told me.”

“Did you also get some new Beaters, Chasers, and a Keeper?” jeered Arthur at her. “I noticed those too were quite lacking when my team beat them.”

“Clever, Arthur. But if this Seeker is good as I’ve heard, we won’t need much of a replacement for others. Morgause told me that he caught the Snitch in under a couple minutes.”

“Yeah? Well, he’s never been up against me,” responded Arthur cockily. Arthur had been known to actually hit the Bludger and knock the Snitch out of the direction it was traditionally going to distract the opposing Seeker. He created this technique is own, but he had yet to name it. 

“Confidence. I like that, Arthur,” Morgana said with a smile. “It’ll be a shame to see it crushed when our Seeker outplays you. Anyways, I’m off to find Morgause. Do keep out of trouble, Arthur. I would hate to tell Uncle Uther about the sort of things you get in to.”

Arthur refrained from retorting about how he never got into any trouble, or if he did, he made damn sure he wouldn’t get caught. As much as he loved his cousin, talking to Morgana always left him feeling slightly irritated. Arthur continued on his way without a good bye, and kept looking for his friends.

He finally found the cart with Gwaine and saw his best friend, Leon sitting there, along with Lance.

“You arse!” Arthur yelled at Gwaine. “You could have told me where you were you sitting before you left me! I spent the better half of the hour just looking for you!”

“Well, you found us, right? I don’t see the problem. It’s not like I decided to become Head Boy, you took it upon yourself for being such a goody-goody,” Gwaine responded nonchalantly. 

Arthur was really debating whether or not to hex Gwaine, but decided against it, if only for the reason that he wouldn’t want to get in trouble before even reaching Hogwarts. The others looked on, knowing that it was best not to get in between the two.

“So, we’ve heard about this new Seeker from Slytherin,” Leon said to Arthur. Leon was the team’s Keeper. “His name is Merlin Emrys. Bit thick for his parents to name him after THE wizard.”

“There’s a bunch of students named Harry, and they don’t have a problem with it. And how do you even know if he’s the Seeker for Slytherin? Hell, we haven’t even reached school, let alone thought about tryouts!”

“Oh, come off it, Arthur, you know Slytherin doesn’t play fair! They’ll have had tryouts quickly after Hogwarts let out after we thrashed their arses during season.” Gwaine scoffed, “And I can’t believe you haven’t heard about him already. You have an inside source.”

“Morgana just told me about it. I didn’t put much thought about it, she’s always trying to brag about Slytherin so I didn’t put that much thought in it. I haven’t even really thought about Quidditch at all. ”

“Bollocks! You’ve probably have already devised dozens of strategies already. I only imagined that you pissed yourself when you learned that you were made Captain. First Beater ever to become Captain!” Lance, the team's Seeker, enthusiastically told him. Arthur was indeed quite proud of his achievement. Of course, when Uther found out, all he could do was comment on who the Captain of the Slytherin team would be. After such an embarrassing loss to Gryffindor, they couldn’t possibly have the same champion as before. 

“Has anyone seen Percival?” Arthur asked. Percival was the other Beater for Gryffindor, along with being one of their mates.

“Nah, I expect he’s with some of his other friends from Hufflepuff. We’ll see him soon enough at the feast.”

~

Arthur and his friends had finally arrived to Hogwarts. He looked with a little disgust as the underclassmen were shoving each other to enter through the door. He had remembered the eagerness of coming to Hogwarts at that age but he knew to not step on other people’s toes. Gwaine also shared his discontentment. 

“You bloody little brats!” he snarled at a pair of second years, “When I get out my wand, I’ll blast the fucking-"

“Gwaine!” said Arthur sharply, “You can’t just go around swearing at a bunch of little kids!”

“Not my fault though, innit? I didn’t ask to be stepped on by some FUCKING, LITTLE TWO-YEAR-OLDS!!!!”

There was no stopping Gwaine when he got upset like this. It was best to just nod with him, and ride it out. Arthur pushed him along through the Entrance Hall and walked through the oncoming traffic to see if they could get a spot at the table inside the Great Hall. Arthur spotted his Head of House, Neville Longbottom, trying to get the attention of all the first years to line them up for Sorting. It was his first year at being Head of House and he could see that Neville was a bit floundered. He nodded to Neville as he passed by.

“I think I see Percival up ahead of us,” Gwaine observed, “Yeah, that’s him there. Percy! PERCY!!!”

Percival turned around, looking quite annoyed at whoever had called him. He became even more annoyed when he found out it was Gwaine. He moved away from the group of Hufflepuffs he was talking to, and went over to Arthur and his friends.

“How many times have I told you not to call me that, Gwaine?” Percival said to Gwaine in an aggravated tone.

“Oh, shut up, your full name is a mouthful. I can’t always be saying ‘Percival, Percival, Percival’ now can I?”

Percival started to open his mouth, but Arthur shot him an “it’s not worth it” look, and said, “Come on, let’s go find ourselves a table and watch the Sorting, yeah?” 

As he walked into the Great Hall, he saw him. He had black, untidy hair that went over his forehead, and it looked like it badly needed a comb to run through it. He had cheekbones of a god that jutted out perfectly on his smooth face. His skin was pale white, but with the black and emerald, they worked perfectly. He had big, dorky ears, but for some reason, they held a certain appeal to Arthur. His lips were a pale color and had a full shape. Arthur had never before seen such lips that held such power over him. But none was as beautiful as his eyes. His eyes were a light powder blue, that had a dark look to it, but it absolutely took Arthur’s breath away. Arthur had to wrench his gaze away from this man’s body before his dick became hard. He made sure that any such bulges were hidden completely under his robe.

“Who’s that bloke?” Arthur asked Leon, with only a barely noticeable quiver to his voice.

“Who, him? No idea, I’ve never seen him around before. Arthur, what does it matter? We want to find a table!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Arthur replied slowly, taking one last look at him before going to find a table. 

~

The Sorting had been finished and now it seems as if Professor Kilgharrah was making a speech. Since he had such an odd fondness for dragons, everyone called him the Dragon. He didn’t mind the nickname, and had even embraced it. Usually, the Dragon made a speech about the rules that were not supposed to be broken. More than 3/4ths of these rules came straight from Aredian, the caretaker of Hogwarts. The previous caretaker, Argus Filch, had retired a few years before Arthur came to Hogwarts. There had been a party like no other when he left. Aredian had taken over right after Filch left. He had a certain knack of catching students practice when they shouldn’t be. After the Dragon had finished reading the rules, everyone expected him to sit down so they could start eating, but instead Professor Kilgharrah stayed at the podium.

“If you had been reading the news lately, you will see reports in The Daily Prophet of some violence on Muggles and Muggle-borns. While The Daily Prophet is usually an unreliable source of news, it does hold some truth. We tell you this not to alarm you, but to warn you and to keep yourself safe. These attacks have been from an unknown group that fashion themselves like the Death Eaters.”

There was an uncomfortable silence as he said those last words. Everyone knows what had happened at Hogwarts almost 30 years ago. How the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord had attacked Hogwarts. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, was the one who was able to defeat the Dark Lord. But that was such a long time ago, that nobody worried about such things anymore. 

“As I said, we only tell you this to warn you. We must keep in mind that The Daily Prophet reported this, and they have never been a reliable source when it comes to information. Now, dig into this wonderful feast that has been prepared for you!”

Arthur was slightly perturbed by this news. The thought of anyone hurting Muggles or Muggle-borns made him sick to his stomach. Gwaine, who knew him quite well, could tell that what the Dragon had said bothered Arthur.

“Come on, mate, there’s nothing you can do about it, even if you wanted to.” Arthur still had that look in his eye that usually meant he wasn’t about to give this up. “Look, this is something that we should let professionals handle, like the Aurors. Just stop worrying and eat up, yeah?”

~

After the feast, Arthur went to go change his room. He luckily shared a room with Gwaine, Leon, and Lance. Percival was the odd one out and slept with some other seven years. 

“Tomorrow we get our class schedules. I guess we won’t be getting that much free time anymore, huh.”

“Free time,” complained Gwaine, “We haven’t had any free time since the bloody fifth year! And with the Quidditch practices, we’ve been aching in brain and body!”

“That reminds me,” remarked Arthur, “We got to have Quidditch tryouts soon. We have two Chaser positions that need to be filled. The sooner we find some, the sooner I can devise new strategies and tactics.”

“Blimey, Arthur, do you ever give yourself a break?!” exclaimed Leon. “You’re Head Boy, Captain of the Quidditch team, and you’re taking NEWTs so you can be an Auror!” 

“It’s not that difficult to handle. Not my fault you’re not as smart as me.” Arthur says with a smirk. 

“Oi, princess! Get off your high horse!” 

“Guys, let’s get some sleep. We have quite a big day ahead of us.” Lance said, ever the mediator. 

“Good night!”

“Night, all!”

“Fuck you all,” said Gwaine, being his brash self.

Arthur slipped into the sheets. He thought over the day’s events, from the last words that his father said to him, to what Professor Kilgharrah had to the school tonight. He also kept thinking about this Seeker that everyone kept talking about. Every year, Slytherin made a big deal about a new player they got on the team, but now even Morgana was talking about him. He was slightly worried if this Seeker was actually good as everyone seems to think he was. He then snorted to himself, knowing that he was probably better than anything Slytherin could throw at him, and had proved that point many times over the years. What really kept him up was that guy he saw from Slytherin. All of Arthur’s life, he had been focusing on making his father proud, doing whatever it took. He never really had time for such things as dating. He never had been attracted to guys before. He didn’t think of himself as particularly straight, seeing as he was never attracted to women either. He had no idea who this guy was, and when he was going to see him again. He would have to ask Morgana about it, but in a discreet way. If she heard that he was attracted to this man, he’d never hear the end of it. He could only imagine what his father would think. Arthur sighed, knowing that pursuing this guy would complicate his life, also knowing he’d pursue him anyways. After a few minutes, Arthur finally fell asleep with his last thoughts being of this boy.


	2. Revelations Part 1: His Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arthur finally learns the name of the mystery boy. Quidditch tryouts happen and a new prophecy is revealed....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOOO, so sorry it took me this long to update. When I started writing this, I had no idea where I wanted this fic to go, and I only learned what I wanted to do with it about two weeks ago. It might be three weeks until I update again, because the next chapter is all about Quidditch. I need to read up on Quidditch and study it like never before! I would like to thank my good friend Gemma (http://excalibur-red.tumblr.com) who helped make this fic completely ten times better for me. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you guys enjoy it too! It's a lot longer than the first one, and for that, I am quite happy about. I hope that it continuously gets longer and longer. Anyways you can find me at http://sammyjay29.livejournal.com/ or http://game-of-boners-and-alphas.tumblr.com (I changed my url!). Happy reading, and as always, comments are welcome!

Arthur was wandering the corridors late at night. The Quidditch tactics he came up with and revised burned into his head. Walking throughout Hogwarts at night always made him feel better. It helped clear his much cluttered head.

Suddenly, Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. He could see someone there, standing just below the staircase.

“Who’s there?” called out Arthur. The thought crossed his mind that it could be someone dangerous and he pulled out his wand.

Arthur watched the silhouette of the person move up the stairs, backing towards the wall as he did so.

“ _Lumos_ ,” Arthur whispered. His wand brightened and he could finally see who it was in the dark.

“You,” breathed Arthur. It was the boy he had seen earlier in the Great Hall. The Slytherin boy made his way closer to Arthur, until he was right in his face. Arthur could see his face in such beautiful detail. He saw the cheekbones that were sharp as glass, and those beautiful, round full lips. He saw those blue eyes that seemed to hold the world within them. Arthur saw so much of this boy and he could not help himself. He pressed his lips against the other boy’s hard, driven by nothing but basic lust.

The Slytherin boy pushed Arthur against the wall behind him. They began to passionately kiss each other. Arthur’s tongue wrestled with the other boy’s as they both began to take off their shirts.

“But I don’t even know your name!” Arthur exclaimed.

The boy made a “shh” gesture with his hand, and explored Arthur’s body. He bit and sucked at Arthur’s neck lightly, eliciting a moan from Arthur. He went further down Arthur’s body, pushing up Arthur’s shirt, stopping at his nipples, and the Slytherin boy sucked on those. These sensations sent little shock waves directly to Arthur’s cock. The Slytherin boy travelled further down his body. He opened Arthur’s pants and looked up at him. The boy looked ever so seductive when he flashed those beautiful, blue eyes up at Arthur.

“Arthur,” he whispered seductively, making Arthur moan again.

“Arthur” he said again, in the same voice, and Arthur began to wonder why he kept saying his name.

“ARTHUR!!!” someone yelled, and the image of the Slytherin boy vanished, and instead left a very annoyed Leon in his place.

“Wha-what do you want?” Arthur replied groggily, realizing that he had just been dreaming, and the events didn’t actually happen.

“I’ve been trying to get you to wake up for the past 10 fucking minutes! Come on and get dressed, we have to go down to the Great Hall to eat and get our schedules!”

“Aww, leave him alone, Leon! It looks like our Arthur was having a _very_ good dream,” Gwaine said with a smirk, and gestured at the bulge in Arthur’s pajamas.

“Fuck off, Gwaine,” muttered Arthur. He got up and went to go put on some clothes. Arthur thought back to the dream that had just ended, wishing that it was true. He had to find out who that Slytherin boy was. Hopefully, he would see him in the Great Hall. He got out and searched for his robes, but trying to conceal his boner at the same time made it a bit difficult. He tripped over his sheets and landed face-first on the floor. The whole room broke out in laughter.

“Some smooth moves you got there, Arthur!” howled Gwaine. “Who was it again that made you Quidditch Captain?”

“You know, you shouldn’t antagonize the man who plays Beater. You might find a Bludger heading your way….” Arthur trailed off threateningly.

“Oh, and hurt the best Chaser you got?” Gwaine scoffed. “I think not.”

“At the moment, you’re the ONLY Chaser we have,” Lance shot at him. “The other two graduated last year.”

“Which is exactly why I will be the best.”

“Can we just get a move on?” said a blushing Arthur, still embarrassed from his stumble.

~

Arthur, Leon, Lance, and Gwaine met Percival in the common room.

“Hey Percy, you should have seen what our great king did this morning.” Gwaine said excitedly.

“Oh my fucking God, Gwaine, let it go!” Arthur yelled at Gwaine.

“Oi, calm down, princess! It was funny and you know it!”

“Let’s just go to the Great Hall so we can get some food,” interrupted Leon. He was obviously done with Arthur and Gwaine’s banter.

Lance and Percival followed Leon to the portrait, and eventually Arthur and Gwaine stopped arguing and followed them also.

“Lance!” called a voice from behind them as they exited the Fat Lady portrait. “Lance!”

“Guinevere!” Lance said excitedly. Guinevere, or Gwen as she was better known, ran up to Lance and kissed him on the mouth. Lance returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm.

“Ugh, get a room!” exclaimed Gwaine, “No one wants to see all that!” Arthur could not help but silently agree with him.

“You’re just mad because you don’t have what we have.” Lance shot back at Gwaine.

“What, the ability to make others completely sick? Sorry, that’s something that I will never have.” Gwaine flips back his long, brown hair to emphasize his claim.

“I can name five girls that say you literally sicken them when they see you.” Gwen interjected, still holding on to Lance. “And they all seem to mention that imperfection about your co-“

“Alright, can we go already? I’m starving.” Gwaine interrupted quite loudly. Arthur smirked, knowing exactly what Gwen was talking about. They all turned, walking towards the Great Hall.

The whole gang had made it to the Entrance Hall when Arthur heard a voice that belonged to his least favorite person at Hogwarts. “Oi, Pendragon!” shouted Cenred Lerwick, his Quidditch rival. Cenred had his whole Quidditch team with him. His cousin’s best friend, Morgause Gorlois, was also there. He knew that she played Chaser on the Slytherin team. She was extremely good, and the one Arthur always had to watch out for.

“Hello, Cenred. How was your summer break?” Arthur said with fake politeness. “I hope you didn’t cry too much over your loss to Gryffindor last year.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I got over it when I got this letter stating that I was Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team this year. Things are going to be completely different this year. I hope you’re ready.”

“Oh, it’s going to be different this year?” Arthur said with a look of mocking skepticism on his face. “What, do you not plan on not winning any matches this year?”

Cenred smiled a smile that did not reach his gray and cold eyes. “You think you’re something hilarious, don’t you, Pendragon? I can’t wait to wipe that disgusting smile off your face after we completely destroy you in the first match.”

Arthur laughed at this, which to his satisfaction made Cenred even angrier. “You? Beat us in the first match? Slytherin has yet to beat Gryffindor in the first match in the past 15 years! I soon fear that the Captain of the Slytherin team will be replaced more than the Defense of the Dark Arts teacher!” All of Arthur’s friends laughed at this.

“Oh, but I bet you that we will! See, the Captain’s position wasn’t the only one that changed. We also have a new Seeker. Perhaps you’ve already heard of him. He’s Merlin Emrys.”

Cenred grabbed someone that was hidden to Arthur’s view and placed him next to himself. The smile fell off of Arthur’s face. He was stunned beyond belief, for here was the mysterious boy who had been featured in his most recent dream. “No” Arthur mouthed to himself. He could not believe that the man he had lusted for like no one ever before was the new Seeker of the Slytherin team. Arthur was rendered stunned and speechless by this revelation, almost as if he was hit by the Stunning Spell.

Cenred took this stunned silence as trepidation on Arthur’s part. “I bet you’ve already heard of his skill from your cousin. I made sure that she would find you and let you know what you’re going to be up against, because I know there’s nothing that you’ll be able to do! Merlin Emrys will be the best Seeker that Slytherin has ever had!”

Merlin didn’t look like he liked the attention and the praise he was getting. He kept on looking down, and his cheeks were red. Arthur could not stop staring at Merlin. Now that he was up close, he saw how even more beautiful Merlin was. He wondered what kind of genetic makeup Merlin must have to have gotten cheekbones like that. The fading blush that remained on his cheeks just took Arthur’s breath away. Merlin seemed to be trying to make himself appear very small, as if trying to not draw attention to himself. Arthur could only stare at him, as if he Merlin was a magnet. The others were not as impressed with Merlin as Arthur was, though.

“What, are we supposed to be impressed by this scrawny git?” scoffed Percival, surprising everyone. Gwaine was the one who usually said this kind of thing. “I know Seekers are usually skinny, but I’ve seen more meat on a polecat than this one. Is this your secret weapon? I’ll almost feel bad for hitting him with a Bludger!”

Arthur laughed along with the rest of his friends, but felt a bit bad for Merlin. Merlin’s reddened cheeks became an even darker red. The only people who didn’t find it funny were the Slytherin team and Gwen.

“Percival!”  Gwen said in a stern voice, with a bit of a frown on her face. “How can you say something like that? I think you’re being too cocky. I don’t think I would mind seeing Slytherin taking you down, and I’d like to see Merlin do it.” She smiled at Merlin after she said this, and he returned the smile back.

“Thank you,” Merlin said with an Irish lilt in his voice.

“Oh, he’s Irish,” Gwaine said coyly. “I think we have more reason to worry now. Those Irish boys are quite something at Quidditch.”

“Yes, we can take most of your English men any day.” Merlin shot back at Gwaine. “We know how to deal with them.”

“Oh, you’re fucking hilarious, mate! Hey, I like this Slytherin! A lot less uptight than Cenred over here! You sure you don’t want to switch over to our team?”

“Oi!” shouted Lance. “You’ve already got a good Seeker, you arse! You don’t need another.”

“But you’re not as pretty as this one! I need a bit of eye candy to get me motivated….”

At this point, Arthur had become a lot more than slightly irritated with Gwaine. _It has nothing to do with that he just called Merlin eye candy. And he’s kidding, Gwaine doesn’t like men,_ Arthur thought to himself. Even if he wasn’t jealous, they all needed to head over to the Great Hall anyways to get their schedule.

“Well, as great as it was to talk to you again, Cenred, my friends and I have to head off to get our schedules and such. It was nice meeting your new Seeker, and I absolutely cannot wait to crush him and your team on the Quidditch field.” Arthur turned around to head off to the Hall. He turned back, remembering that Morgause was there. “Oh, and Morgause, can you tell my cousin that I would like to talk to her sometime? I’m afraid I don’t know if I’ll be seeing much of her this year.”

“No problem, Arthur.” Morgause replied to Arthur.

~

“Pendragon, Arthur,” called out Professor Longbottom.

Arthur went up to his Head of House, and received his schedule. He saw that for today that he had double Transfiguration, double Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, and Herbology.

“I don’t know how I’m still in Transfiguration, I’m rubbish at it,” Gwaine complained as he went up to Arthur.

“Oh, shut up, will you?” Percival told him, slightly irritated. “You know you’re better at it than any of the rest of us.

“Percy, if you act like that, I’m not going to help you this year.”

“Stop calling me that, my name is Percival!”

“Percy, you know I only call you that because your name is too much too say! I can’t be saying Percival all the time! It’s just a bloody name, I don’t know what’s up your fucking pants…”

“If I had my bat right now….”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Arthur finally yelled out of exasperation. “Will the both of you just quit it? Every fucking day, it’s like this! If you guys can’t stop having a row every two seconds, you’re not going to be able to function on the Quidditch field, and I will NOT be having my first and only year as Captain be terrible because I have two teammates who fight like an old married couple! Gwaine, call him by his own fucking name! Percival, your name is a bit long, a nickname wouldn’t hurt! Now will the both of you stop it?”

Percival and Gwaine looked taken aback by the sudden outburst from Arthur. Arthur wasn’t one who usually yelled a lot, and it was only on the Quidditch field. It seemed quite out of character for him. Everyone around him was looking at Arthur with a bit of a concerned look on his face. Arthur pretended not to notice and looked quite ferociously at his schedule, as if it was that piece of paper’s fault. Finally, it was Leon who broke the ice.

“Well, I think we should get going to class,” he said with false cheer. “Gwaine, Arthur and I have Transfiguration right now. Professor Aglain is a bit laid back, but I think it’s better if we don’t arrive late. He has been known to turn students into lizards. We’ll see the rest of you after classes, yeah?”

Arthur, Leon, and Gwaine left Lance and Percival sitting at the table as they headed off to their class. They were running a bit late, so they had to hurry to get over there. They made into the classroom just in time, out of breath, just as the bell chimed.

“Oh boys, so glad you made it without being late. I would hate for you to be late on your first day. But do try to be a bit earlier next time.” Professor Algain said.

“Now would you please open your copy of _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_ and we can begin.”

~

Leon, Lance, Percival, Gwaine, and Arthur all met up at lunch. Percival and Gwaine sat next to each other, acting like nothing had ever happened in the morning, as Arthur knew they would. They seemed to be staring at him in a peculiar way, though. They wouldn’t do it together, though. One would stare at Arthur with his head cocked, and then look away. The other would just look intently at Arthur, and then when Arthur would look his way, he would look at the sunny ceiling, as if checking the weather for today. Finally, Arthur had had enough, and stared at both of them. They both jumped a little when they noticed that _he_ was staring at _them_. They recovered, and proceeded to have a staring contest with him. Percival was the first to yield, looking away ashamed. Gwaine, always up for the challenge, continued to stare at Arthur. The whole gang watched the staring match as it went on for a couple of minutes. Finally, Arthur narrowed his eyes, and Gwaine couldn’t take it anymore.

“Gah, Arthur, why the fuck do you have to do that?!” exclaimed Gwaine.

“You two were the ones looking at me,” Gwaine and Percival had the grace to look slightly abashed. “If you thought I was going to apologize for what I said earlier, you’re mistaken, mate. I will take my position as team Captain very seriously, and if I see some dissension within my team, I _will_ take care of it. I don’t want to take you guys off my team, you two are my mates, but I will if I have to. And that goes for _all_ of you, not just Percy- er, Percival- and Gwaine. Am I clear?” There was a mumbling between through the group. “I said, _am I clear_?”

“Yes!” they all chorused.

“Now, we have Quidditch try-outs this evening. I want you guys to be ready. We have two Chaser positions that need to be filled. That’s the only thing that will be tried out. Now, I know most Captains make everyone try out again, but I have a lot of faith in you guys. I _know_ we’ll win this Cup again! Now, are we ready for a repeat?”

“Yeah!!” they all said.

“I will see you all on the Quidditch field later.”

As Arthur got up from the table, he saw Merlin again. Merlin was about to exit the Great Hall, no doubt off to his next class.

“Excuse me, I have to go see something.” Arthur said quite distractedly. He moved quite abruptly and almost ran to get to Merlin.

“Oi! We got Defense Against The Dark Arts in about 5 minutes. We can’t be late, you know what Professor Nimueh is like, Arthur! She’ll give you detention if you’re late!” Percival yelled after Arthur.

“I won’t be late!” Arthur called back.

Arthur rushed through the crowds. He finally spotted Merlin again and he called out to him.

“Hey! Merlin, right?” he said, as if he didn’t have Merlin’s name imprinted into his head.

“Pendragon?” Merlin said incredulously.

Arthur found that he didn’t really like the way Merlin said Pendragon. It was too formal for his taste, and he wanted to be _very_ informal with Merlin.

“Please, call me Arthur. Pendragon is what people call my father.”

“Okay then, Arthur,” Merlin said with a faint smile on his face. “Is there anything you need from me or is there a message you needed to relay to Cenred or something?”

“No!” Arthur said suddenly, slightly startling Merlin. “No, I just wanted to ask how you were doing. And how is it that I’ve never seen you around before?”

“I’m a sixth year, Arthur. I guess you don’t really have time for those, do you?” Merlin replied dryly.

“N-No, that’s not it!” Arthur sputtered. “I just don’t know many…I don’t interact with the other Houses that much, is all!”

“Calm down, Arthur, I was only kidding.” Merlin laughed. “Wow, you can’t take a joke, can you?

“I can too take a joke,” Arthur said heatedly, “and now I realize you’re still joking with me. Umm, I also wanted to apologize for the way my teammates acted earlier. I think they went a bit under the line, and I wanted to make sure you weren’t too deeply offended.”

“It’s fine, Arthur. I can take a joke. You might not be able to take a loss when Slytherin wins in the first match,” Merlin said with complete determination in his voice.

Arthur, completely confident in his skills and his team’s, humored Merlin and replied, “I’m sure we’ll be fine _if_ you’re good enough to defeat us.”

“Anyways, I have class to get to. I’ve got Herbology with Professor Gaius right now. I should be hurrying along so I will see you later.”

“Of course,” Arthur replied, maybe taking those words a bit more seriously than he should. He stood there for a few moments, reveling in the fact that he was able to finally talk to Merlin. Merlin was….different than what he thought he would be. He saw Merlin as someone mysterious and otherworldly, not the quirky person before he had just talked to. He didn’t know if this changed the way he felt about him, but it certainly changed the way Arthur saw him. Frowning, Arthur started walking in the same direction as Merlin.

“We’ve got to hurry. If we’re late for Annis’s class…” Arthur heard some fourth year say. _Shit!_ , he thought to himself! He was going to be late for Nimueh’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class and he could _not_ be late for that class. There would be dire consequences for being late for her class. He could not get detention and miss Quidditch tryouts. He started sprinting in the other direction, running as fast as he could. _I can see it now,_ he thought to himself, _the first Quidditch captain to not be there for his own team’s tryouts._ Arthur made it through the door in just enough time before the bell rang. Professor Nimueh glared at him. He took his seat next to Percival. Percival gave him that _See, I told you_ look, and Arthur gave him a responding _How ‘bout you shut the fuck up, mate?_ look and Percival turned to the front.

 “Now that everyone is here, everyone take out their wands. We’re going to refresh on how to counter the Confundus Charm. I shall need a scapegoat. I think Pendragon shall do nicely. Come, Pendragon!”

Arthur groaned inwardly, getting up and going to the front of the class. He knew this class was going to be a long one.

~

“I can’t believe she performed the spell on me _that_ many times!” Percival yelled as he and Arthur walked to the Quidditch field. “What the fuck does she mean she messed up?!” Percival had been Confunded about a total of 10 times. The class was supposed to be performing a counterspell on Percival. On the 8th time, no one could cast a successful counterspell on him. They had later learned that Professor Nimueh had cast a potent use of the spell by “accident”. She made everyone try until Arthur had finally shouted, “ _Stupefy!”_ and the only way to bring Percival back to consciousness was to use the Reviving Spell. When Professor Nimueh had asked why he had Stunned his classmate, he had replied with, “Well, no one was going to figure out how to use a counterspell on him! I thought Stunning him and Reviving him would end it.”

“Well, I can’t say you weren’t innovative, Pendragon.” Nimueh had said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Ten points for Gryffindor for creativity, but I do _not_ want to see anyone Stunning another student, or doing spells not required for this lesson anymore. Do I make myself clear?”

Arthur had nodded his understanding.

“And then you Stunned me!” yelled Percival. “That hurt, you twat!”

“Had to be done, mate. No one knew how to take the spell off of you,” Arthur said as they went through the field.

“I still don’t believe she didn’t know how to take off the spell!” Percival raged.

“Her words, not mine,” Arthur said absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the field.

“Quite a turnout for only a role for two Chasers.” Percival observed, his rage already forgotten. That was one of the things Arthur liked about Percival. He was never really mad, and rarely stayed that way.

Arthur and Percival finally reached their other teammates. Gwaine, Lance, and Leon were all huddled off to the side of the bleachers, where there seemed to be close to 50 people sitting there.

“Blimey, it’s going to take forever to get through everyone!” Gwaine whined.

“Got somewhere to be, mate?” Lance asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’d rather be anywhere than watching a bunch of fucking idiots pretend they know how to play Quidditch.” he responded.

“Well, think how we must feel when we play with you.” Arthur hugely enjoyed the look of outrage on Gwaine’s face. “Kidding, mate, calm down. Remember, you’re our best Chaser. That’s why you need to be here. So you know what you’re going to be scoring with.”

“Whatever, they better be fucking good.” Gwaine grumbled.

“Anyways, let’s get this started, Arthur. I’m starving.” Leon told Arthur.

“I know how you feel.” Arthur started walking into the field where he was directly in front of the bleachers.

“How are you going to make them hear you? You can’t yell over them, there’s too many,” Percival asked him.

Arthur waved his wand in front of Percival’s face.

“Oh. Right.”

Arthur arrived in the spot where he wanted to be, and said, “ _Sonorus”_ and his voice boomed over the field. “Alright, all those who want to try out for the role of Chaser, please gather your brooms and fly up into the field.”

Half of the people got up and got their brooms. It seemed a few of them had trouble getting on to their brooms. Another managed to get on, flew up a few feet, and then crashed to the ground. Arthur sighed, knowing this was going to be a _really_ long tryout session.

“Come on, you lot, we don’t have all day!”

~

A dark, mysterious man was walking down the corridor and opened the door to a room filled with 11 people. All wore hoods, yet every one of them knew who the other was.

“Sit down” said a deep voice at the head of the table. The mysterious man sat.

“Any news?” asked the deep voice.

“There is news, and not certainly good news,” said the mysterious man. “There has been another one of those pesky prophecies by those godforsaken Trelawneys. I don’t know why we just kill them all.”

“Killing the Trelawneys will not stop these prophecies from happening,” said a woman’s voice, clear and strong. “We should be grateful, for they warn us for what is to come, and how we can stop it.”

“So what is the prophecy about?” asked the deep voice.

“Something…quite unusual and something I have never heard of,” replied the mysterious man. “Nothing like this in the history of the Wizarding World has ever happened.”

“Tell us,” said an elderly voice that made almost everyone shiver. The voice was like nails on a chalkboard amplified by many magnitudes.

“I’ll show you” and the mysterious man went over to the glowing Pensieve by the corner. He put his wand to the tip of his head and pulled a silvery sliver of fabric. He put the sliver into the basin, said an incantation and tapped it once. “Watch.”

A person came out from the basin and spoke these words in a melodious tone:

_In the 25 th year after the Great Wizard War_

_An old group will have come to settle the score_

_They will shroud our world into darkness as once did the Dark Lord_

_The Muggles will finally know what has always been at their back door_

_Day and day will turn into night and night_

_As the dementors will feed off their fright_

_One boy’s powers in a way peculiar_

_Will come to punish the persecutors_

_He has powers that are beyond imagination_

_Able to do spells without any incantations_

_And does not need to create a bond_

_As one would with a wand_

 

“What does that mean?” whispered the woman.

“It means somewhere out there is a wizard who can do spells without a wand and without words. It means someone who will destroy what we have been working on for the past twenty years. It means someone that must be taken care of as soon as possible,” replied the dark man sitting at the head of the table.

“So we understand what we must do,” croaked the elderly person.

“Yes,” said the mysterious man. “We must find this boy and kill him.”

 

 

 

 


	3. Quidditch Game 1 or rather The Time Arthur Missed Just the Tip

Arthur was pounding his head against the wall in the Prefect's bathrooms. He ran the game over and over in his head, multiple times. He was _so_ sure that he did everything right. Nonetheless, all he could remember was missing with the Bludger. He could hear the voice of the Quidditch commentator over the field booming out, “Emrys has done the impossible! He dodged Arthur's legendary Bludger Backbeat! The Backbeat that never misses!! AND HE CATCHES THE SNITCH!!”

Gryffindor was ahead at this point, it hadn’t mattered that Merlin had caught the Snitch. Within 10 minutes Arthur noticed that there was no change in Slytherin's Chasers, who were completely awful. Their Beaters were mediocre at best, and they were definitely no match for Percy and Arthur. They had great control of the Bludgers at all times, not even allowing for Slytherin's Beaters to get near them. This allowed Gwaine, Elyan, and Mithian to score easy points throughout the game. Arthur gave a small smile to that.

The new Chasers Arthur had picked up were easy choices; they performed beautifully during the tryouts. Elyan was Guinevere's little brother, and Arthur heard of Mithian but never knew she had any interest in Quidditch. She was a 6th year and from what he heard, she was an incredibly talented witch. She was one of the very few to ever get 8 Os on her OWLs.

Many people had wondered whether Arthur was picking favorites after the unpopular decision of keeping most of the team and then adding Gwen's brother. They were quickly put to rest after Elyan scored 70 points for the team, and Mithian scored a 150 points, with Gwaine trailing behind her with 100. Arthur had never seen Gwaine look so determined to score points, not even during last year's Quidditch Finals. Everything in the game was going perfectly ~~up~~ until the moment when Arthur's miss allowed Merlin to catch the Snitch.

None of that mattered to Arthur when he missed his own signature move. He ran it over in his head a million and one times, and he couldn't make any sense of it. The only thing that he could think of was that maybe the sun had gotten into his eyes when he went for the swing. It had seemed to brighten suddenly as he swung and he saw the yellow light reflected in Merlin's eyes. Any other time, Arthur would have waxed poetic about how beautiful Merlin looked bathed in the sunlight, but all he could be was angry at how he missed.

“Arthur? You alright, mate?” came Gwaine's voice. It was filled with concern causing Arthur to jump out of his reverie. “You've been in there for nearly two hours. You stay in there any longer, Moaning Myrtle will take it as a sign,” Gwaine joked.

“Gwaine, we should leave Arthur alone!” hissed Percival, “You know how he gets when he's in one of his moods.”

‘ _I'm not in a mood’_ Arthur bit back because he knew he was wallowing. He didn't want to appear anything but strong in front of his teammates and friends. ~~so~~ With a sigh, he stepped away from the showerhead and wrapped a towel around himself. The shower, he knew, would soon turn itself off.He went to the locker room where Percival, Gwaine, and perhaps more of his friends were waiting to stage a mini-intervention. He opened the door to see both Gwaine and Percival squabbling as usual.

“Percy, we can't just allow him to drown himself in the shower. Not only is he gonna waste all the hot water, it's a bit of a pathetic—H-Hey Arthur, how ya doing, mate?” Gwaine stammered as he realized that Arthur was in the room. “You know, you give a guy the wrong impression by just standing there around other guys wet and naked. I've seen enough porn to know where this is going....”

“Shut up, Gwaine.” said Percival. “Arthur… Gwaine was” Gwaine shot a sharp look at Percival when he said this. “I mean, _we_ were worried about you so we came looking for you. We know what this is about. The shot you missed on Emrys, it's nothing really The sun got really bright and you've hit it every time before You were bound to miss eventually and we won the game and you made Cenred look like a fool and everyone was chanting “Albion's Heroes”you really should be glo-”

“Percival, breathe!” Arthur said, alarmed. He was worried if he let Percival continue, he would have turned blue.

“Look Arthur, the point is, _we won_.” Gwaine said, with a roll of his eyes at Percival slightly gasping for air. “Who cares if you didn't get your fancy schmancy move on Pretty Boy Wonder (Arthur assumed he meant Merlin)? We _thrashed_ Slytherin and we looked good doing it. Well, _I_ did, I don't know about the rest of you lot. And so did Mithian, I might add. We're amazing, mate. You are too. So don't beat yourself up over something so small. You're not your father,” Gwaine ended with a soft look in his eyes.

Arthur felt like something was stuck in his throat. He didn't know his teammates cared so much about him. “Yeah I know, I was just being stupid.”

“Good, now that we've got that figured out, Percy and I are going to go back to the common room while you get changed, because you have been in a towel for far too long,” Gwaine said as he pushed Percival outside the locker room with him.

“Gwaine, really, it's nothing we haven't seen.” echoed Percival's voice as they left.

“Been looking, have you, Perce?” Gwaine shot back. Percival began to make incoherent squawking noises as he tried to explain what he meant. “If I had known, I would have put on a bit of a show....”

Arthur laughed to himself as he got dressed. It's good to know that his friends could tell he was upset and sought to cheer him up. But that didn't stop Arthur from replaying the scene over and over in his head. He still doesn't understand how he missed. When he finished dressing, he decided to head over to the Quidditch field instead of the common room. He got the gear, his broom, and with a whispered “ _Alohomora_ ” he was on the field. He took out the Bludgers, said the necessary enchantments, and mounted his broom.

“You know, they say the wicked never rest, but I think this might be taking it too far.”

Arthur stiffened on the broom as he heard a voice, but eased immediately when he recognized it as Merlin's.

“Wicked now, am I?” he retorted as he turned around and was unable to say anything after that. If Arthur could wax poetic about how Merlin looked bathed in sunlight, he could write epics for the ages about how Merlin looked bathed in moonlight. Those cheekbones that looked beautiful during any other time now looked absolutely ethereal. His eyes looked spectacularly winter blue, and Arthur had to look away for fear in getting lost in them.

“You'd think after nearly crushing my team, you'd be celebrating, but here you are, practicing. If only the Wimbourne Wasps had your spirit, I might have had something to root for this year.” Merlin said in mock woe.

“The Wimbourne Wasps?” Arthur scoffed. “Really? I thought a player of your caliber would be rooting for a more serious team”

“Oh yeah, well who do you root for, Mr. High and Mighty?”

“Puddlemere United!” Arthur stated proudly.

“Of course you do. I bet you're one of those die-hard supporters who has posters of each player or has their name on their broomsticks. Me, I like to root for an underdog. Makes it more exciting, see.”

“Oh, is that why you decided to play for Slytherin?” Merlin raised an eyebrow at that. That look had Arthur retreating quickly. “Sorry, I didn't mean it like---”

“It's quite alright.” Merlin chuckled lightly. “I know my team definitely has their work cut out for them. But I think that with my help we can turn our team into one to be reckoned with. If not, well....the Snitch is worth 150 points for a reason, eh?” Merlin joked.

“Yes well, I look forward to facing you again.” Arthur said. Merlin mentioning the Snitch reminded of the reason he came out here and went to mount his broomstick again.

“That was quite a move you pulled with Bludger this afternoon,” Merlin called out, causing Arthur to stop. “Never seen anything like it. Nearly caught me with it too. In fact, I think I just got lucky. It's called the Backbeat, right?”

Arthur was hesitant to talk about this. He came out here partly to forget about his miss earlier today. “Yes, the Bludger Backbeat. It's a move I came up with and only I know how to use it correctly.”

Arthur realized that he was giving information to a player from a rival team, but he somehow knew that Merlin was going to keep this whole conversation just between the two of them.

“I wasn't aiming for you, not really. The point of the move is to separate the Snitch and the Seeker. When it comes at you, it makes it look like it's going to hit you but if you keep going, it’ll hit the Snitch instead. It's a very precise curve.”

"Oh wow! It must have taken you ages to get that angle right!” Merlin said excitedly, his eyes alight with fascination. “You really are an amazing Beater, Arthur.”

Arthur was left speechless by Merlin's excitement and praise. No one had shown such interest in his move, not even Leon.

“Well, I have to be getting back to the common room. Cenred will want to yell at the team, and probably blame me for not catching the Snitch earlier. I'd like to see _him_ try when catch such a small, high speed object quickly. He can hardly catch a big red ball flying at his face--”

Arthur did not catch the rest of what Merlin had said, for he was too busy laughing at the jab Merlin had said at Cenred's expense.

“That-that was great, Merlin. I haven't laughed like that in a long time.” Arthur said as he wiped tears out of his eyes.

Merlin made an earsplitting grin at that and said, “Well, I'm glad someone appreciates my wit. I'll be seeing you around, Pendragon.”

Arthur started putting away the Quidditch gear. With an afterthought, he turned around and said, “I told you, you don't have to call me Pendragon, that's my fath--”

Merlin had already disappeared into the night, and Arthur didn't get to remind him of what he preferred to be called.

~

Arthur returned to the common room late that night, and still found his team sitting around the fire.

“Oi, princess!” Gwaine whispered loudly (as there were still other people in the common room that were trying to study), “What happened after Percy and I left the locker room? Did you give the shower another go or...?”

“I went down to the Quidditch field,” replied Arthur. Everyone looked at him in incredulity. “I just wanted to practice a bit more, and get ready for our next game, is all. Nothing wrong with that!” he ended defensively.

“Arthur, our next game isn't in almost a month.” said Lance softly.

“Well, I guess I better get started on what to do with our next game. We want it to be as easy as this one, yeah?” Arthur said with false cheer. Everyone could tell that there was no real emotion behind his words.

“Arthur--” started Lance.

“Look, I'm fine, yeah? So drop it. There's nothing wrong with practicing a bit after a game.” His teammates looked like they didn't share his sentiment. “Look, it's been a long day, and I'm ~~feeling~~ tired. I'm gonna go on and head to sleep.”

With that, Arthur went up the steps to the rooms, changed his clothes, and plopped on his bed. He truly was exhausted and sleep came to him almost immediately.

 

~

Female screaming could be heard echoing across the dark, morbid house except for one room that was alight periodically with magic.

“I told you, I don't know what you're talking about! Please, please let me go!” pleaded the woman who had been screaming earlier. She had her arms tied around, panting heavily.

“See, that's the problem with you Trelawneys.” sneered a nasally and reedy voice. “You're never useful for anyone until there's no one around to hear your little prophecies that helps no one. Well now, we're going to force the information from your mind! _Crucio!_ ”

The woman began screaming even louder, and loud cracks could be heard as the woman's bones began to break. “PLEASE!” she begged. “PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!”

“See, I can't do that darling.” said the man as he poured himself a shot of whiskey. He sat back in his chair across from the woman comfortably. “My boss ordered me to get information on this person who can do magic unlike the rest of us. Anything at all so we can find him and ah.... _make sure_ he doesn't get in the way of our plans. All you have to do is give me something.”

“But it doesn't work like that!” begged the woman, breathing heavily. She cradled her arm into her chest, trying to alleviate the pain. “I cannot just _See_ on command, it happens haphazardly! Please just let me go--”

“I know how it happens, darling!” snarled the nasally man, standing up. “I'm just hoping if we cause you enough pain, your Seer self will come out and play from your subconscious. If it doesn't work, well no one likes a fake fortune teller anyways...”

The man raised his wand again and shouted the Cruciatus Curse. The woman screamed as more bones began to crack. When the man ended the spell, she began trembling violently.

“This is useless!” spat the man. “If you're not going to give me anything then I guess you are of no use to me. _Avada Keda--_ ”

“EMRYS,” rang out from the woman, clear, deep and resounding. “EMRYS,” she repeated as she stared deep into the man's eyes and then proceeded to slump to the ground, trembling slightly.

There was a flash of green light from behind the man and the woman stopped her trembling, dead. A tall man walked into the room and was tucked his wand away as he said in a deep voice, “Finally. Something to go on. We're a step closer to finding this....person.”

“Why'd you kill her!” yelled the nasally man angrily. “We could have pressed her for more information.”

“Did you see her? She was never going to give more information, much less talk after what you put her through. We were lucky to get even that, whoever told you to torture her for information was an idiot. The Trelawneys cannot give prophecies on a whim. Even if we could get more information, they will have probably went into hiding after this. And were you not going to kill her yourself a few seconds ago, Dorian?”

“Well yeah, that was before she started talking.” grumbled Dorian. “And what the fuck does Emrys mean? Is that part of a spell or is it a place? That's hardly anything to go off, really.”

The tall man stared down at the dead body. “I do not know,” he said finally. “But whatever it is, we will find it. We must.”

The man turned around and began to walk out. He stopped and said, “Get rid of the body, Dorian. I will go tell the others of what we have learned,” and continued on his way before Apparating into the night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOOOO sorry it took me a year and some change to update this fic. I knew I might hit a snag with the Quidditch chapter but I didn't think it would be like this... Much thanks to my friend, Mandy for betaing this chapter for me. Not the longest, but it will seem like a story when I'm done, I promise you. I can't promise a schedule for this, because I'm still hammering out the chapter sequences for this fic. This will be the last chapter for a while with an ending including the bad guys. I'm going to try to focus on Arthur and Merlin's...friendship for a while! I'm looking to draw this story out, so who knows, maybe I'll be telling it from someone else's perspective! But all chapters that heavily deal with the main storyline will be told from Arthur's perspective. I took a bit of liberty with the Trelawneys with the torturing for information. I don't think you can really torture someone for prophetic information. Her name was Miranda Trelawney, for those wondering, a niece of our lovely Sybil Trelawney. The Bludger Backbeat is an original name I created for a move for Arthur. I do not know if what he does already has a name or if it is a legal move in canon!Quidditch, but it is for the sake of this fic. If you have any questions or anything, leave them in comments or go to my tumblr, http://burdenedwithgloriousdick.tumblr.com. Thank you to anyone who's reading this fanfiction!


	4. Teenage Scenes, Major Wet Dreams, and a History of History

_** Gwaine ** _

Gwaine usually hated it when it rained, but for once, he was grateful. Arthur had been pushing them to the limit with training lately, and between Quidditch and schoolwork, Gwaine had been  _exhausted._ He had little idea what made Arthur push them all so hard in practice, but he suspected it had something to do with the last Quidditch game. It's not as if they had  _lost_ the first Quidditch game, but Arthur had suffered a personal loss, so the whole team suffered for it. 

“Oh damn, would you just look at the ceiling!” Gwaine said in mock sadness as he sat down at the table with his teammates in the Great Hall. It was packed with people because of the downpour outside. “It's pouring, ladies and gents!  T hat's just unfortunate, I was  _so_ looking forward to practice tonight, such a shame.”

“ T hat's okay Gwaine, I've prepared for this.” said Arthur  said cheerfully , as if he was excited to play in the rain.”

_Of course you did princess,_ thought Gwaine. 

Arthur continued,  “I learned a spell that won't cloud our vision when we play. Of course all the mud and everything else will have to be cleaned with a Scouring Charm. Nothing we can't handle right?”

Gwaine looked around,  silently pleadi ng toward the rest of his teammates. They have never practiced in the rain before and Gwaine was n' t about to start. Lance was the one who spoke up.

“Arthur,” began Lance  calm ly. “We've been practicing for three hours every day this  entire _week_ . And it's raining now and to be honest, I'm behind  i n a few  classes . And I am  _not_ getting detention from Nimueh because I don't have enough time to sleep  _and_ finish my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. So, for this one day, can we just call it off?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes and stared at them  all  for a long time. “Is this how all of you feel? Like I'm pushing you too hard? Do you  _all_ want the day off?”

There were mumbles of “ Y es”, “ Y eah, that would be nice”, and Gwaine was pretty sure he heard Elyan say “ N o one wants to practice with a prat”. If Arthur heard that, he didn't show it. 

“I cannot  _believe_ you  lot ! I thought we wanted to win the Quidditch Cup this year!”

“Well, we can win without all t-this-this--” Leon sputtered to find a word for what exactly Arthur was doing.

“Tallywhacking?” Gwaine supplied helpfully.

“Yes! Wait,  _what_ ? Gwaine, no!”  At that,  Gwaine snickered.

“What Lance is trying to say, Arthur,” said Mithian. “Is that you guys didn't have to try nearly as hard to win the Cup last year. I watched you guys practice all the time. So even _I_ know you guys didn't practice every day for s uch long hours.”

“Watching us, were you?” Gwaine said with a smirk. “I must have been so impressive you decided you couldn't stay away and  that's why you joined the team!”

“More like I saw how bad you were and decided I'd come save the team.” shot back Mithian. 

Arthur glared at the both of them and they immediately shut up. “I still think we should practice more. We want to show our dominance. We could have lost that game to Slytherin!” he argued.

“Whaddaya mean, mate?  W e were way ahead! We thrashed Slytherin!” exclaimed Gwaine. Gwaine wasn't the only one doubting Arthur's sanity at this point. Arthur was receiving some incredulous looks from the rest of his teammates.

“At the end, they almost caught up to us in points--”

“Yeah, because  _you_ let Pretty Boy Wonder catch the Snitch!” Arthur stiffened  at Gwaine's words . “And even then we had a good 100 points over them!”

Arthur looked like he was close to exchanging blows with Gwaine. Gwaine was angry enough to, Arthur was being a complete asshole. He clenched his fists in preparation.

“Stop it, both of you!” Percival yelled angrily as he and Leon both made Arthur and Gwaine sit down. Gwaine had n' t realized he was standing until Percival had shoved him in his seat. Percival turned to Arthur and said. “Look Arthur, we did amazing against Slytherin.  W e  _will_ show the school that we  _are_ the best Quidditch team _._ But we can't do that come game day we're all too tired to even play, mate. You gotta give us more  rest .”

Arthur  glar ed at each and every one of them. “Fine.” he said in a scathing tone. “Fine, have your  _day off_ . But I'm still going out there and work hard on my strategy  _without_ my team.” 

“Arthur, don't be like--”

“Don't be like  WHAT , Leon? Hardworking? Determined? I'm sorry if those are qualities you don't find desirable.” Arthur left the table and exited the Great Hall.

“I'll go after him,” said Lance,  excusing himself from the table to go after Arthur.

“What the fuck is his problem?” said Mithian. No one said anything. With a disgusted noise, she  l eft the table to find some of her friends.

Gwaine knew what Arthur's problem was.  Arthur had been raised to be the best. Anything else would be a shame to him and more importantly, his father. Uther was like this even when it came to Arthur's friends.

***********************

_“Wow Gwaine, Hogwarts is amazing! I can't wait to be an Auror!” said Arthur with an excitement only a child his age can muster._

_“Arthur, this was just our first year! How do you know what you wanna be already?” asked Gwaine._

_“I know.” Arthur replied with a determined look on his face._

_“I can't wait to use magic to prank my little sister,” Gwaine said with a mischievous grin on his face._

_“Nuh uh, Gwaine, we're not s'posed to do magic outside of school! They said so!”_

_“Aww, well my summer is gonna be boring.”_

_“Hey, you wanna come over to my house during the summer! I'm sure my dad won't mind.”_

_“Yeah, that'd be really cool, Arthur! I've never been to another wizard's house before!”_

_“I've never had any friends come over! Just my dad's boring friends and their even more boring kids. It'll be fun with you around! Plus, he's almost never there.”_

_“Well, who takes care of you then?” Gwain_ _e_ _frown_ _ed_ _. He couldn't imagine his parents not being home when he is._

_“The house-elves my father pays for. They're all really cool! Say you'll come, Gwaine!”_

_“Of course, Arthur! You're my best friend!”_

_Both Arthur and Gwaine exited the train. Gwaine could see his friend struggling with his luggage_ _as they stepped off the train_ _. “Here, lemme help, Arthur.” Gwaine said._

_“Thanks, Gwaine! I didn't think I'd be taking home all of this--”_ _h_ _e said, waving his hand at all his stuff._

_Arthur spotted his father just a few feet from where they were. “Father!” he shouted._ _Happiness laced his voice and he ran up to hug him._

_“Hello, Arthur. I hope you had a good school year, and you did well. I_ _'ll_ _put your things in the car and you make sure it all goes in properly._ Locomotor Luggage! _”_

_“Oh, Arthur is like, the best student in our year, sir!” Gwaine said, proud of his friend._

_“And who are you?” Uther asked, with a smile on his face._

_“I'm Arthur's best friend Gwaine, sir! Gwaine Campton!” Gwaine's_ _replied_ _. “He asked me to help him with his bags before I go through the wall!”_

_“You're going through the wall by yourself?” Uther questioned. “But where are your parents?”_

_“They're on the other side of the wall!” replied Gwaine in a cheery voice. “They're not magic like me, so they can't come through.”_

_“You're Muggle-born,” Uther said, a frown replacing the smile that was once there. “Arthur didn't tell me he was friends with a Muggle-born.”_

_“Well...why should he tell you, sir?”_

_Uther looked down at Gwaine with a fake smile. “I just like to know who my son is hanging around with. A parent's concern and all. Why don't you run along and find yours? I'm sure they're worried sick about you.”_

_“But I didn't get to say good-bye to Arthur!”_

_“I'll tell him that you said good-bye.” Uther's voice left no room for discussion._

_“Oh..._ _okay_ _,” said a saddened Gwaine. He walked away from Uther and left the platform. Just as he went to enter the wall, he turned around to look at Arthur. He could see Arthur arguing with his father. Gwaine somehow knew that it was about him being Muggle-born. His suspicions were later confirmed_ _via owl informing him that_ _. It_ _said_ _that_ _Arthur_ _was sorry but Gwaine couldn't come to his house. Gwaine thought he_ _'d_ _lost his best friend, but when he_ _boarded_ _the Hogwarts Express for his second year, Arthur found_ _and joined_ _him in a car_ _riage_ _and sat with him and told him, “You're my best friend no matter what. Nothing, not even my father, is going to change that.”_

_***********************_

“Gwaine!”  Leon called as he snapped his fingers. 

Gwaine jumped at the sudden movement in front of his eyes. “Yeah, what's happening?” he replied He didn't realize he had completely zoned  as he re-lived that memory.

“You totally  zon ed out, everyone's leaving.”

Gwaine looked around the Great Hall and saw there were only a handful of students left. “Where did everyone go?” he asked.

“Well, after Mithian left, it was time to head up.  E veryone else went to the common room. I went to talk to Professor Longbottom about the Herbology homework and when I came back to collect my stuff, you were  still sitting there, staring off into space. I was afraid someone cast a Confundus Charm on you.” Leon said with a laugh.

“No, I was just thinking about the past, Leon. The time before you and I.”

“You mean, your first year?” Leon looked at Gwaine with a bemused expression. “Why were you think ing about it ?”

“I don't know, I guess I was being nostalgic,” replied Gwaine. Gwaine was filled with a sudden desire to talk to Arthur. “Well, we gotta get going, right? Dinner is over and all.”  W ith that he dashed off to go find Arthur.

“Where ' re you going?” yelled Leon.

“To the Quidditch field!”

“I thought you hated the rain,” Leon said with a questionin gly, b ut Gwaine did n' t hear him.

~

_I fucking_ hate  _the rain_ Gwaine thought as he ran out to the  pitch Lightning colored the sky and low rumbling could be heard every couple of minutes.  “Hey Princess!” shouted Gwaine when he got on the Quidditch field. Through the rain, he could see Arthur flying around with enchanted Bludgers and the Snitch. He kept aiming the Bludgers towards the Snitch and every time Arthur hit the Snitch, Gwaine could hear a little  _ping_ . 

“Arthur!” Gwaine called again, trying to get Arthur's attention. Either Arthur could not hear him or he was ignoring him. While one could make a strong case for the former, Gwaine suspected the latter. 

“Oh for fuck's sake,”  Gwaine muttered under his breath. “ _Accio Broom!”_ he shouted, pointing his wand where the extra broomsticks were stored and one came flying to his location. He mounted it, and flew up to Arthur's position all the while fighting against the rain.

“Arthur!”he yelled. “Come on, talk to me! I need to tell you something important!”

Arthur didn't respond but Gwaine  swore he heard a disbelieving snort in the wind.

“Arthur, please!” he pleaded. “Arthur, just talk to me! If you don't, I'll go flying in front of the Bludgers and you'll have to get a backup Beater on the fly, I swear I will.” 

Arthur still did n't acknowledge Gwaine. With a sigh, Gwaine thought  _I'm trusting you, Princess_ and flew in front of one of the Bludgers. He braced himself for impact in case Arthur didn't stop in time.

“Jesus fuck, Gwaine!” Arthur swore and quickly ended the enchantment on the equipment. The Bludger was just inches from Gwaine's  fac e  when it froze and then dropped  to the ground. Arthur  landed and Gwaine followed him.

“What is so important?” Arthur said angrily while  gathering up the Bludgers and the Snitch. “Didn't you want this day off to do something other than practice?”

“Arthur, I think I know what this is about. And you've  _got_ to get over it! Your father isn't here now, you  _can_ make your own decisions! You're running the team ragged, and you're running  _yourself_ ragged! I can't watch you do this to yourself!”

“What do you care?” snarled Arthur at Gwaine. 

Gwaine was stunned speechless for a second. “Of course I care, Arthur.”  His voice was soft . “Best friends, remember? Nothing is going to change that.”

For a while, Arthur didn't speak . He  headed to ward the locker room as Gwaine followed. When they arrived,  Arthur  turned to Gwaine.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I don't mean to be so rude, it's just that....it really fucked me up, mate. And not just because I missed, but because it was _him.”_

With a dawn of realization, Gwaine finally understood why Arthur was pushing him and the team so hard. 

“You fancy Pretty Boy, don't you?” Gwaine said in a suspicious tone with a squint of his eyes. “That's why you've been pushing so hard.  B ecause you want to be  _worthy_ of him-; because you think he's better than you! That's it!  I sn't it!”

Arthur said nothing while he changed his clothes,  which confirmed everything Gwaine  said . He groaned inwardly.  _Of course_ Arthur would be so....so  _Gryffindor_ . The Sorting Hat wasn't wrong at all when it Sorted him into this House. 

“Well Princess,” he said. “ T his is textbook you, so I have to be textbook  _me_ and help you out of this situation. Shag him.”

Arthur looked at Gwaine with an expression of horror on his face as he used the Hot Air Spell to dry his clothes. Arthur pointed his wand to Gwaine's clothes  in order to do the same and Gwaine sputtered while his clothes billowed around him. “Orright, orright, no requesting to shag him. Merlin Pants's, you would have thought I asked you bomb the Ministry. Well...how about you just ask him on a date?”

Arthur's eyes widened even more at the thought of that. “No no no, I can't do that! What if he's not gay or if he's not interested and he laughs in my face? What if he  _tells_ someone that I asked him out!”

“Arthur, you're  not in the closet, everyone knows you shag guys, mate! Hell, even your dad knows, but of course he's not prejudiced about  _tha_ _t._ No, only  prejudiced about people not having magical parents...”

Arthur knew exactly what Gwaine was talking about. At the end of his fourth year, Gwaine stood beside Arthur while he told his father that he liked men instead of women. His father was completely silent before  he asked  Arthur if Gwaine was his boyfriend. Arthur had looked at his father in incredulity before telling Uther that he and Gwaine were  just friends and it would always be that way. Uther's look of relief  was burned in Gwaine's memory and  he  alway experienced a flare of anger when  the memory surfaced . 

“Yeah but everyone would still laugh at me!” Arthur hissed as they walked to the common room. “Imagine the headline in the Daily Prophet! ' Uther Pendragon (Head of Department of Magical Law)'s S on  As ks  O ut Slytherin's Seeker,  Ge ts  R ejected! Turn to page 4 for an exclusive interview  with Merlin Emrys!'”

“Okay, now you're just being dramatic. That would  _never_ make the Daily Prophet. You're not important enough. Maybe the school newsletter, not that anyone reads it. Well, maybe this will get them to read it.” Gwaine  chuckled and  Arthur just groaned louder. “Look, as your best friend, I will not have you torture the rest of team and certainly not yourself over a boy you've gone head over heels with! It violates the very contract that created this union! Either go on a wanking session or do  _something_ but don't take this out on us.”

“You're right, I've been a bit unfair to the team.” Arthur ignored Gwaine when he snorted as they  approached The Fat Lady. “I shouldn't be taking out my problems on them.  I've b een a bad Captain, haven't I?”

“Well, let's just say Puddlemere won't be calling you to take over their training anytime soon.” Gwaine said with a smirk. “ _Fytherley Undercliffe!_ ”

The Fat Lady's portrait swung open and Gwaine and Arthur stepped through and saw that Leon and Percival were by the stairs, obviously struggling with a piece of difficult Transfiguration homework. 

“Guess who was  successful in get ting a certain someone to get his head out of his ass?” announced Gwaine, completely ignoring Arthur's glare. “Arthur's decided that he's gonna be a bit nicer  from here on out  and not run us completely ragged.”

“That's...nice to know,” said Leon, trying and failing to hide his relief.

“Blimey, if I was this bad, you could have had an intervention,” Arthur muttered.

“We tried,” Percival said, not hearing the sarcasm. “But you kind of went off and practiced in the rain.”

“Well, my work  here is done” said Gwaine. “I'm going to go lay down, as taking down a ferocious lion does leave me exhausted.” 

“But you were supposed to help me with the Transfiguration homework!” protested Percival. Leon looked like he was feeling the same sentiment. “You're the only one who helps me understand it!”

“Another day, Percy,” Gwaine called out without turning around, and he went up the stairs to his room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was originally the first part of one big chapter but after editing it, I decided to split it in half! I will put up the 5th chapter as soon as I finish editing it. I hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Gwaine's dialogue basically wrote itself, I felt like this was really what he would say. I've decided not to make Uther into a complete villain as I wanted in the beginning but he's still an ass. Not a homophobic ass, but an elitist one. Slightly better, eh? With spell casting and magic, I've taken quite some liberties. I'm trying to be accurate and canon as possible, but JK didn't reveal everything to us about the Wizarding World, so liberties must be taken.To any of my UK readers, if any of you think my sentences are achingly “American writer who knows nothing about English/British slang and is using it wrong” please let me know. I'm trying to be as accurate as possible. If you have any questions or comments, as always, go to my tumblr http://burdenedwithgloriousdick.tumblr.com. Shoutout to close friends of mine, Jordan and Mandy for helping me beta my fic. You guys made it at least 10x better so thank you so much!


	5. Have Faith in Your (Dick) Squad

“Alright, class, settle down!” called out Professor Annis. “From your tests, I've seen that you've had some difficulty telling the differences between Charms and revealing them, so today we're going to be working on that. Very important in your N.E.W.T.s that you know differences between certain spells. For instance, can anyone tell me the difference between _Skurge_ and _Scourgify_?”

Gwaine saw Morgana's hand shoot up, and then Arthur's hand a second later, glaring at his cousin. Gwaine could not answer, but he could probably figure it out with some time. Despite getting an E on his OWLs for Charms, he was not that good at the subject as he was with Transfiguration.

“Yes, Morgana?”

“ _Skurge_ is for cleaning up any ectoplasm left by ghosts.  _Scourgify_ is the basic cleaning spell.” 

“Good girl, that's 15 points to Slytherin.” Morgana looked smug, and Arthur's glare intensified. Gwaine would never understand the silent competition those two had going on, but if the looks were anything to go by, it was close. “For those who want to be Aurors, you need to be able to tell different enchantments in able to continue your work in the field. For those who want to be Healers, you need to reveal the many enchantments that may be on your patients and so on. This spell is an important one to master. Now, wands out, tap the object in front of you, and say  _Specialis Revelio!”_

The class spent the rest of the time looking for hidden enchantments from various objects. The most entertaining thing to happen during the class was when Percy falsely cleared this globe of having no enchantments only for there to be a blinding light and Percy was hit with a Tongue Tying Curse. Gwaine, who was right next to him, laughed for 5 straight minutes before saying  _Finite Incantatum_ ending the spell. Percy still refused to speak to him for the rest of the class.

“Aww, Percy, don't be upset!” Gwaine complained as they left the classroom. “Come on, you'd be laughing at me if it happened to me, don't even say you wouldn't!”

Percival grudgingly smiled at the thought of Gwaine getting hit by the curse. “Yeah, I guess I would.” 

“See? All good then!” Gwaine said with a soft smile.

Percival looked at Gwaine for quite a while with a shy smile. Gwaine couldn't help smiling at him too. Despite Percival's rather large demeanor, Gwaine decided that Percival was a treasure that needed to be protected, especially when he smiled like this. 

“What is it, Percy?”

Percival showed a small scowl at the use of his nickname. “Well, I was thinking...later today we should go out to on the Quidditch field and fly around, like we used to. We haven't done it in forever. I miss it.”

Gwaine found himself beaming at the tall man. “Yeah, I miss it too. We should do it, after dinner?”

“Yeah, that should be good,” said Percival.

“It's a date then, Percy.” Gwaine said with a mock lecherous grin.

Percival blushed at that. “Yeah well,” he responded, “I don't put out on the first date.”

“Wouldn't expect ya too,” Gwaine shot back as he walked off to his next class. “I like the chase!”

Gwaine laughed at Percival's face, which had just turned into a very dark red. He left the man in high spirits, feeling better than he had in a long time.  _Wait a minute,_ he thought,  _did I just flirt with Percival?_ . He shook his head, and just chalked it up to friendly banter between friends.  _Very_ good friends. Nothing more, right? I mean, Gwaine would know if Percy was into him, and he would definitely know if he  _himself_ was into Percival, right? Gwaine shook his heads from such thoughts and got ready for the most boring class in the entire Wizarding World: History of Magic with Professor Binns. Before he arrived to class, he saw Mithian with a group of her friends and suddenly decided he'd do a Very Nice Thing for his dear mate, Arthur.

“Oi, Mithian!” she looked at him, deciding if he was worth her time. Before she decided that he wasn't he said, “I need to talk to you, it's urgent.”

“Gwaine, if you want to sleep with me, you're going to have to do more than just repeatedly ask me.”

“But who could say no to this face?” he said, mockingly wounded. “The Queen insults me.” Mithian turned away from Gwaine, going back to his friends. “Wait, I really do have something to ask you.”

“What do you need, Gwaine?”

“I need you to find out about someone in your year. His name is Merlin Emrys. He's Slytherin's Seeker. Find out everything you can about him. His friends, eating habits, and most importantly, what kind of people he's  _into_ , if you catch my meaning.”

“Why do you want all this information?” Mithian looked at Gwaine suspiciously. “You're not planning to do anything to him, are you? I don't play that way.”

“No no no, darling” Gwaine quickly reassured her, “nothing of that sort. I'm just need you to do some....reconnaissance.” Mithian gave Gwaine a strange stare when he said that. “I'll pay you,” he said with a sigh. 

“20 Sickles.” she demanded.

Gwaine narrowed his eyes at her. “5 Sickles.”

“15,” she said with her arms crossed.

“10,” Gwaine said. “Take it or leave it. I'll add in an extra 3 Galleons with it if you supply me with excellent information.”

“Fine, 10 it is.” she said. “Is that all?”

“Yes, my Queen,” he said, with a mocking bow. “Thank you for your attention.”

“You know, your sudden obsession with Emrys is kinda unexpected. Totally thought you and Percival were happily together. Guess a girl got it wrong.”

Gwaine took a while to register the words and was completely bewildered when he did. “You think Percival and me are a--” but Mithian had already left him before he could finish his sentence. Slightly perturbed by the ending events of that conversation, Gwaine finally headed into Professor Binns's class, and prepared himself for another boring lecture.

“Good afternoon, class.” Professor Binns sounded as dead as he looked. “Today, we will resume the third giant's war and the effects it had on the Wizarding economy. Please open your textbook to page 56.”

Gwaine groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long class.

 

~

 

“Why, oh _why_ must I continue to take History of Magic when I didn't want to have anything to do with the class after the 2 nd year?” complained Gwaine when he got to lunch. “I thought we didn't have to take any class if we failed the OWL? In fact, I purposefully failed it in case I accidentally did brilliantly on it so I _wouldn't have to take it.”_

“Maybe they put you in there because they know you tried to fail it,” Leon said thoughtfully. “You have to say, it's a pretty good plan.”

“ _Everyone_ has to take it.” Gwen said, while tucked under Lance's arm. “After the war, they made History of Magic a mandated class after the war. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it and all that.”

“Yes, but that's a  _Muggle_ saying. We're  _wizards_ .”

“Aren't you Muggle-born, Gwaine?” asked Leon.

“Yeah, so?” bristled Gwaine. Years of knowing Arthur's father and some people in his life made Gwaine's hackles rise every time someone mentioned his bloodline.

“I'm just saying that you would think of all people you'd be the one to hold on Muggle customs.” Leon said peacefully.

“Yeah well, I abandoned all that, didn't I? Went and completely immersed myself into being a wizard.”

“What a load of bollocks that is!” said Arthur with a smile on his face. “You mention the Muggle world  _all_ the time!”

“Name one time!” Gwaine regretted his words almost immediately after he said them.

“You keep talking about your football teams,” said Arthur, obviously confused about how you could use your foot and a ball for fun.

“I hear you talking about a certain Sports Illustrated bikini issue and how it's very important to you.” offered Lance.

“You talk very enthusiastically about this game named.....Pokemon?” supplied Percival.

“And you're  _always_ mentioning porn,” Gwen said distastefully.

“Orright orright, I get the idea. All I'm saying is, History of Magic? Unnecessary.”

“I can't help but agree with Gwaine on this one, it is...how do I put this?  _magically_ boring.” Percival said, coming to his rescue.

“ _Thank you,_ Percy. I knew I wasn't the only one who felt this way.”

“Yeah, I bet,” muttered Arthur under his breath. Gwaine narrowed his eyes at him when he said that. He could hear the double entendre but had little idea to what Arthur was alluding to. “Anyways, team, under the threat of forgetting all other practices by Percival's Memory Charm, I have decided to call off the surprise practice we were supposed to have.”

“Blimey Percival, you're scary good at those,” shuddered Leon, having been on the receiving end of one of those. “I pissed you off once, I can't even remember what it was about, and I couldn't remember anyone's names for the life of me. Had to go to Professor Kilgharrah to get my memory back.”

“Well well, Percy, if you want me to forget something, there are others ways of doing it.” Gwaine said, with a wink thrown Percival's way. 

Percival blushed, reddening slightly. Gwen and Arthur both looked between Gwaine and Percival and looked as if they both understood something Gwaine didn't. Everyone else around the table just groaned at the obvious innuendo

“Gwaine, do you always have to be so vulgar?”

“Well someone's gotta do it,” Gwaine said, with an air of doing someone a great service. “Now I have one more class before I can call myself free for the day. I will be seeing you lot later.”

With that, Gwaine left the table and didn't so much as look back for dramatic effect. Either that or because he didn't need a spell to know Gwen and Arthur were both staring holes into his back.

 

~

 

“And that will be all for today,” said Professor  Anhora. “No homework for today, but I want you to brush up on your minor constellations memory!”

Gwaine left his Astronomy class, feeling relaxed as he always did. Studying the stars and planets, and their magical properties had always been calming for Gwaine. None of his friends shared his sentiment, which didn't bother Gwaine. He preferred to be alone when he was one with the intergalactic. He told The Fat Lady the password, and entered the common room.

“Hey Gwaine!” said Elena. She came up and gave Gwaine a crushing hug. 

“Elena!” he said, completely surprised. “This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?” Elena was a fourth year who was in the Hufflepuff House. 

“I'm looking for my brother, have you seen him?” she inquired.

“I have not since earlier this morning.” he responded. “Why do you ask?” 

“Mum accidentally sent some of his stuff with mine. I thought I'd come by and give it to him but since he's not here I guess I'll leave it to you to give to him.”

“Hmm, but why didn't you just leave it with one of his other mates?” he asked her, with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

She beckoned him closer, as if to tell him an important secret. “They're not as nice as you are.” she stage whispered. “Plus, you're  _so much_ hotter than them.” 

“Oh, well don't let them hear you say that. I mean, obviously it's true, but we don't want to hurt their egos, do we?”

She laughed for quite a while, even snorting a bit. Gwaine became slightly concerned with her but she stopped after a while. “You're so  _funny_ , Gwaine! Umm, anyways, I should be getting back to my common room before anyone realizes that I'm not  _actually_ from Gryffindor. I trust you'll give my brother the present...?”

“Of course, Elena.” he promised.

“Alright then, I'm off, see you later, hot stuff!” she called out as she left the common room.

Gwaine was left feeling slightly bemused, as he always did after he talked to Percival's little sister. She used to have a genuine crush on him, but that didn't really mean much, as she went through all of Percival's Quidditch teammates. Gwaine just assumed that was sibling behavior, seeing as he didn't have any. Arthur was the closest thing to a brother to him. Gwaine went to his room to change his clothes before leaving the common room to go meet Percival. When he got out onto the Quidditch field, he could see Percival flying in the sky. At the sight of him, Gwaine's pulse quickened and his mouth suddenly became dry.  _What's the matter with me_ he thought.  _It's just Percy._ He mounted his broom, and flew up into the air. 

“What's crack-a-lacking?” Gwaine said in an American accent.

“Umm us, I guess? We don't have any crackers with us....” Percival said in a confused tone.

Gwaine burst out laughing at that. “Yeah, Percy, we definitely don't.”

“Is this one of your Muggle things that none of us know about?” 

“Yes. And I can tell  _someone_ hasn't been paying attention in their Muggle Studies class.”

“Never in our Muggle Studies classes has the word 'crack-a-lacking' come up.” Percival said with a laugh.

“Yeah well, it should. It's a  _very_ important part of Muggle history and you'll look out of place if you don't use it all the time around Muggles.”

Percival laughed again. “I cannot tell if you're serious or not.”

Gwaine laughed with him and said, “I'm not. While it is something Muggles say, it's...not often. And usually only by the  _Americans_ .”

“Oh, well that makes sense as to why it sounds absolutely ridiculous.”

The sun started to set as the two continued flying around. Gwaine could tell something was on Percival's mind, but wasn't sure he wanted to know. Finally, he had to know. He stopped his broom. Percy skidded to a stop beside him.

“Percy, are you just gonna stare at me all evening or are you going to tell me what's up?”

“I...it's just that....”

“Yes, what is it, Perce?” Gwaine asked.

“Did you mean it when you said it's a date?” Percival blurted out.

“Umm, not really, Percy. It's a saying. Even wizards use it, it's not just a Muggle thing.” Gwaine told him with a wry smile on his face.

“Oh. Umm, okay. I wasn't sure, is all. You know, sometimes you're literal, and I thought maybe this was the one time you were literal, but of course you're not literal, because we're just friends, right? We're nothing more, just good buddies, just enjoying each other's time, you know the whole she-bang--” Percival had suddenly stopped talking because Gwaine pulled his broomstick to his and kissed him on the lips, right there in the air. The kiss was filled with a hunger and  _need_ that Gwaine did not know he possessed, as if he was he was filled with a thirst all along, and kissing Percival was the only way to quench it. He broke the kiss, and smiled at a confused Percival.

“She-bang? Man, you really were rambling.”

“Gwaine! You kissed me!” said Percival, completely shocked.

“Yeah, I know, I was there, Percy.” Gwaine said with a smirk.

“ _Why?”_

“What, did you not want me to kiss you? I take it back then.”

“No, it's not that, I just--”

“Ah, so you  _did_ want me to kiss you! That's good to know.” Gwaine said smugly. “Was it good? I certainly enjoyed myself.”

“But  _why_ did you kiss me?”

“I don't know, I didn't even really think of you as more of a friend until recently. But you looked so...amazing while you were flying and then you started rambling, and all I know is that I really wanted to kiss you.” Gwaine turned to Percival sharply. “You didn't make me drink a Love Potion, did you?” he said suspiciously.

“What? No, don't be silly, I would never do that!” Percival told him indignantly. “I don't even know how to  _make_ one, and I wouldn't use it on you if I could!”

“I take offense to that, my dear Percival!” Gwaine said as he clutched his heart. “I'll have you know, many girls and boys have attempted to use a love potion on me, wanting my affections.”

Percival snorted, not believing one word Gwaine said.

Gwaine started to feel very uncomfortable all of a sudden and realized that he had a  _woody_ . “Err, Percy? You mind if we cut this flying session short? It suddenly became  _very_ har—difficult.” Percival looked at Gwaine questioningly, not understanding. He raked his eyes down Gwaine's body and spotted why it suddenly understood what Gwaine had meant. Gwaine had a sheepish grin on his face, but didn't look at all apologetic.

“Umm, yeah. Yeah, sure,” he said and they went to dismount from their brooms. 

They walked off the fields and put up their brooms in silence. The silence was filled with tension and Gwaine was wondering which one of them was going to break first. 

“Listen, Percy, I'm sorry if I took you off--” 

Percival spun and pressed his lips to Gwaine's, one hand settling on his jaw and the other losing itself in the teen's dark hair. Gwaine melted against Percival, kissing him back with a level of urgency neither of them were used to. They moved to the nearest wall, completely embraced in each other's arms.They were moving, Percival taking the lead, and a surprised grunt escaped Gwaine when his back forcefully hit the wall. His hands dropped to the others waist, grip tightening when Percival's own hand tightened in his hair, tugging just this side of painful so that he would tilt his head back. Percival's lips were immediately on Gwaine's jaw and it was as he slowly mouthed his way down the to the other's neck that Gwaine moaned, deciding then and there that he wouldn't move from this spot if the castle walls themselves came tumbling down around them. It was all too much and yet still not nearly enough and while the heat shared between them was overwhelming.

A loud clanging sound made them both jump from their make out session. It was followed by a mournful moaning and more clanging.

“Fucking Bloody Baron,” murmured Gwaine, his arms still around Percival.

“Just as well,” sighed Percival. “We need to go back to the common room.”

“But Percy,” Gwaine complained. “I can't go back to the common room like this, I'm hard!” 

“I told you, Gwaine, I don't put out on the first date.” Percival began to grin evilly. “But I do have a solution.” He took out his wand. “ _Reduc--”_

“NO!!  _No!_ You're  _not_ making my cock smaller! Trust me, you want the whole thing as it is.” 

“Well, I guess you're just gonna have to think of me Grams naked or something.” 

“Percy,  _gross!_ I  _know_ your Grams, that's such a  _horrid_ image!”

“Well, it should do the trick, yes?”

“It definitely did.” muttered Gwaine. “Hey Perce?”

“Yeah Gwaine?” he said, with an affectionate smile on his face. 

“What exactly are we gonna tell the guys?”

“Oh shit,” groaned Percival. The smile came right off.

Gwaine and Percival walked in silence for a while. They went up the stairs, arriving on their floor. Gwaine took Percival's hand in his own.

“We'll just have to tell them that we're together. And if they don't like it, they'll just have to suck it up. Of course, I'd like to be the one who does the sucking...”

“Ugh, Gwaine, do you always have to be so.....”

“Amazing? Inspiring? The light of your life?”

“ _Lewd.”_ finished Percival.

“Well, one of us have to do it, love. I'm the chosen one, just like Harry Potter was.”

“You, the Chosen One?” Gwaine scoffed.

“Aww, come on, Percy! I'm a Gryffindor, so I'm almost there! Just give me some glasses and a lightning shaped scar, then I'll fit the bill.”

They became silent again as they walked up to The Fat Lady's portrait and before Percy could say the password Gwaine said, “We can wait a bit, if you want. We don't have to tell them right away. Especially not right now, seeing as they'll freak out about it. But they're our  _friends_ Percy. They won't treat us any different than they treat Lance and Gwen. Probably worse, but that'll only be because it's me.” Gwaine finished with a self-deprecating grin. 

Percival groaned. “Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?”

Gwaine gave a toothy grin. “Too late now, Perce. You're stuck with me,” and he squeezed the large man's hand.

“Oooh, are my favorite Gryffindor boys finally together?” asked The Fat Lady, squealing a bit.

“Yes darling,” replied Gwaine with a trademark smirk, “but don't tell anyone just yet. We want to make it a surprise!”

“Oh, alright, I'll keep quiet for now!” she said, with a knowing look.

“You do realize that she's probably gonna tell the first person she sees tomorrow morning?” whispered Percival as they went through the hole.

Gwaine realized that the moment he realized that they were talking in front of a magical portrait. He had forgotten that these ones could listen in on him and even talk to him, unlike the  _normal_ ones at home.  _So much for a surprise_ thought Gwaine. He sighed loudly.

“Probably.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part of the huge chapter I wrote. It focused a lot more on Gwaine and Percival. Also, I started this thing with Percival and Gwaine a lot earlier than I originally decided, but there may be less angst this way. Or not! *queue evil laughing* For the record, Gwaine is bisexual, along with Merlin and Percival. Arthur is the only one within the main characters who is completely gay. Elena becoming Percival's sister just sorta...happened, but I don't think it's OOC (out of character) at all, they share many similarities in my mind. Smart move, my brain! The next chapter will be from Arthur's point of view and will continue the main storyline. Special thanks to my friends Mandy and Jordan. You can follow them at http://mywitfailsme.tumblr.com and http://fireflyphoenix.tumblr.com respectively. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or find me at my tumblr. Thanks for reading


	6. Follow the Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's sorta secret attraction for Merlin is out. His friends all know which, of course, leads to disaster. Or does it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been dealing with anxiety and depression lately and only recently have I began to feel a bit normal. I've had this chapter completed for quite some time but I didn't ever publish it due to not having it beta'd and also I don't know where I want this chapter to go next. I don't really want to advance the plot just yet and I wanna focus on some other characters but I'm not sure where I wanna go. If you want to participate or help bounce some ideas of off me or just talk about my fic you can reach me at thegaydepression.tumblr.com. I'm so happy that you guys are still here and enjoying the fanfiction. I do promise that this WILL be completed, I just hope I still have an audience to read it. For now, enjoy the chapter and I will send an update as soon as I can! :) Also I apologize for the awkward ending, I WILL do better next time. Oh and another also (I'm writing these notes at 1:40am please bear with me) there is a mention of anxiety, specifically social anxiety. I wrote this before I was diagnosed but this is pretty close to how I constantly feel. If I didn't put it down well enough or if I'm missing something, please let me know, I really wanna do write with authenticity and accuracy.

So wait, you and Percy are a thing now?" asked Leon with a confused tilt of the head. 

"Yeah, kinda," said Gwaine cheerfully while Percival muttered under his breath, "My name's not Percy," but he was still smiling.

"Did we miss something because I did not see this coming," Leon continued on, still a bit bemused by the events. "I mean, I always knew Gwaine would want to fuck anything within a ten mile radius but Percy, you’re a bit of a surprise."

"Yeah, surprised meself, actually. Of all people, I went for Gwaine," Percy said, with a slight smirk on his face. 

"Oi, I'm prime boyfriend material, and you know it!" 

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate," snorted Arthur.

"Speaking of boyfriends, have you found out if he likes blokes or not, Arthur?" Gwaine asked him, rather loudly in Arthur's opinion. 

"No Gwaine," he said with a pointed look at him, telling him to shut up right now. None of the others knew that he liked Merlin. He knew they wouldn't care if he liked the opposition. In fact, he was almost positive they'd laugh at him. 

"Find out if who likes blokes or not? Arthur, you fancy someone?" Mithian asked. "Omigosh, who is it? Is it Edward from my year? Literally every gay guy wants him.”

"Who is Edward?” Arthur said in bewilderment. 

“Oh, I forgot,” said Mithian with some exasperation in her voice. “You hardly know anyone outside your year. Well if it’s not him, who is it?”

“Oh, you obviously have a lot to learn about our Arthur,” Gwaine said with a clap on Arthur’s back. “He only likes the best. In fact, one might say he likes those who are better than him?”

“Well I didn't think Arthur thought anyone was better than him so I guess he'll die alone. On to someone with an ACTUAL chance of being with someone," Mithian continued. Arthur was glad in the shift of attention. "I'd like to get to know that Hufflepuff Chaser. The one with the long blonde hair." 

"Edmond?" Gwaine said with a wrinkled nose. "Why would you be interested in him?"

"I think she meant Elena," Gwen said from under Lance's arm. "And what's wrong with Edmond?" 

"He smells like cabbages," Gwaine complained. "Old cabbages. Like, cabbages as old as The Dragon." 

"Do you think you could introduce me, Gwen?" 

Gwen and Mithian continued to chat for a while about getting Mithian a chance to talk to Elena. Arthur looked over to the side of him and he saw Percival and Gwaine holding hands. Gwaine was talking about his dream of owning a whole hippogriff racing team while Percival just listened with a face of exasperation and affection. He stared off near the entrance to the Great Hall, looking and searching for nothing. That is, until he saw Merlin coming in. His hair looked disheveled as if he hadn't combed it in days. His face held a dead and confused expression, something, Arthur imagined, a zombie would look like if it was trying to figure out how to create a Polyjuice Potion. He gathered that Merlin was not a morning person at all. He kept his eyes on Merlin until he arrived at the Slytherin table. He witnessed Merlin stare at the breakfast food, until he finally picked up an apple and started munching on it absentmindedly. Arthur could have watched Merlin all day but he was snapped out of it by the clearing of throat by Leon. Everyone was staring at him, and Gwaine himself had a smirk on his face. 

“What?” he said, his face burning. Arthur finally wrenched his eyes away to find his friends staring at him with a variation of smirks, confusion, and slight concern. 

“Shit, you like Emrys.” Mithian said in a shocked voice. Her voice became more animated. “That’s great, you like the enemy! It’s the beginning of an tragic love story. I cannot wait to come up with a name!”

“A name for what?” Arthur asked, scared of the answer.

“Your couple name, of course!” Mithian squealed. 

Arthur groaned. 

“Well now that the cat is out of the bag we can work on getting you a date with Pretty Boy!” Percival rolled his eyes and Arthur groaned some more.

“Wait, how long have you known, Gwaine?” asked Leon incredulously.

“I’m the best friend here, aren’t I? I’ve known for a while! Remember that day he woke up with a snake in his pants? Who do you think that dream was about?”  
Arthur groaned louder this time. 

“Well why haven’t you asked him out yet, Arthur?” inquired Lance. “Is it because he’s Slytherin?”

“What? No! My dad is in Slytherin!”

“Enough to put off anyone from dating someone in that House.” muttered Gwaine. 

“I just….don’t think now is a great time to ask, is all” Arthur continued, ignoring what Gwaine said. “Anyways, enough of my love life, I have Defense Against the Dark Arts now, I have to go.”

Arthur gathered his things, and rushed from the table, knocking half of his books off. Half the people around him snickered but shut up once he glared at them. With a wave of his wand, the books stacked in one arm and he continued walking quickly with some of his dignity intact. Arthur was speeding out the Great Hall when he ran straight into Cenred, again dropping his books everywhere.

“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE FOOKING GOING, PENDRAGON!”

“I-I’m sorry Cenred, I didn’t mean to--” Arthur stammered, as he picked up all of his books. 

“Ugh, just move, I’m gonna be late for my Potions class thanks to you. Accio Bag!”

Cenred gathered his things and walked off with a noise of disgust.

“Wow, a little bit harsh, dontcha think Pendragon?” Arthur heard behind him. He knew exactly who that voice belonged to. He sighed, because this was just his luck, and continued picking his things up.

“Well, I deserved it, didn't I?” Arthur said, as he tried to hide his smile. “Ran straight into him. And I keep telling you that you can call me by my first name.” 

“Cenred calls you Pendragon.” Merlin pointed out. He bent down to help Arthur pick up his books. Arthur tried very hard not to stare at Merlin’s backside, finding the task a little easier than it should have been due to the robes.

“I'll call you Arthur eventually,” 

“When?” Arthur had accidentally let slip. He didn't mean to sound so desperate. 

Merlin handed Arthur’s books to Arthur. He looked Arthur straight in the eyes, with a ghost of a smile on his face.

“Soon, Pendragon,” he answered cryptically. “Anyways, I have to get going. Do try to be more careful and avoid more run-ins with my Captain. Wouldn't want anyone to think you're trying to intentionally injure him,” Merlin said with a smile.

As always, Arthur had a retort ready with how he didn't need to injure Cenred in order to beat him but he was left speechless by Merlin’s earsplitting smile.  
Arthur finally made to Professor Nimeuh’s class but knew he was very late. Lance and Leon, who were in the class with him just raised their eyebrows at him when they saw Arthur. 

“Pendragon!” Professor Nimueh said in a false cheery voice that was dripping with poison. “Since you obviously don't think you need to arrive on time, maybe you wouldn’t mind leaving on time either!”

Arthur groaned. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today.

“How about detention for a week?”

Arthur sighed aloud as he took his seat next to Lance and Leon. 

“Yes Professor Nimeuh.”

~

After his classes, Arthur spent the rest of his time with Professor Nimeuh. She made him help her assort various class agendas and do some physical labor. It was interesting to  
learn that fourth years were finally learning about (insert Dark magic thingy here). He was also attacked by a boggart and now Professor Nimeuh knows his worst fear are Blast Ended Skrewts. Arthur looked at the clock for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, and he noticed that it was 8 pm. 

“Yes, you may go, Arthur.” Professor Nimeuh said, not looking up from her desk. “Please be back at 4:30 tomorrow. And I hope you have learned your lesson on punctuality.” 

“Yes Professor Nimueh,” Arthur muttered, just happy to be out of detention. He basically sprinted towards the Great Hall, his stomach rumbling along the way.

“OI PENDRAGON!!” Arthur heard behind him. He cried inwardly. He just can’t catch a break today.

“What do you want now, Cenred?” Arthur asked in an exasperated tone. 

“Don’t play dumb, I know exactly what you did! Trying to take another’s players is grounds for disqualification in the Quidditch Cup!”

“What are you talking about?” Arthur said, very confused and starting to get angry. “Why would I even want any of your players? We’re all better than you anyways!” 

“Oh yeah, then why were all of your teammates hovering over my Seeker and asking him questions?”

Arthur was about to answer until he processed Cenred’s words. They didn’t Arthur thought dreadfully. Of course his teammates wouldn’t pester Merlin for the reason he think they did. Not unless they had a death wish. 

Cenred took Arthur’s silence as an admission of guilt.

“Don’t think you can get away with this, Pendragon.” Cenred spat his name at him. “I’ve already gone to the Headmaster about this. Looks like Gryffindor won’t be going for a threepeat this season after all.” 

Cenred walked away with a smirk on his face, thinking that his victory to the Cup was clear. Of course, Arthur knew right away why his team was bugging Merlin and he was unbelievably mad at them. How could they do this? What would Merlin think of him? He stormed his way into the Great Hall, going past his teammates. They all had sheepish and apologetic looks on his face. Leon came up to him first. 

“Arthur, listen. We--” Leon started but Arthur just brushed past him in anger. Arthur decided he would go sit next Barry Langston, a fourth year and a person more deserving of Arthur's attention than the rest of his teammates. 

“Uh he-hey, Arthur, sir!” Barry sounded amazed that Arthur would even grace him with his presence. God, was he this bad?

“Hey, Barry, right?” Arthur asked with a smile. “You don’t have to call me sir. I hope you don't mind if I sit next to you today. I'm kinda mad at my friends and I'd rather sit anywhere else than with them today.”

“Oh, uh, of-of course!” Barry said all wide-eyed. Arthur hoped he didn’t give this kid a heart attack. 

“Soooo…,” Arthur said slowly. This particular situation was kind of awkward and he didn’t want to just sit in silence next to this kid. He should probably make an attempt to get to know him. “What are you in to Barry?”

Arthur learned that Barry was interested in a lot of things. He learned that Barry’s favorite class was Potions. Arthur also learned Barry also was really into Quidditch, and he learned that the only reason that Barry didn't try out for the Quidditch teams was because Barry had, at times, a paralyzing social anxiety. 

“Sometimes I can’t move from the spot I'm at,” Barry confessed. “It’s like I’ve been hit by a Petrifying Spell. It's terrible and horribly inconvenient. That's why I couldn't make the Quidditch tryouts.”

“I don’t understand how just being really shy can make you paralyzed.”

“It’s not like that!” Barry replied fiercely, taking Arthur by surprise. “Everyone think this is some….thing that I’m exaggerating but it’s like a sickness. A disease of the mind.” Barry realized that he had his fists clenched. He sat back down. “Sorry,” he muttered. 

Arthur looked at Barry with newfound respect. 

“No, I apologize,” Arthur said. “I shouldn't have treated your...condition so lightly. You're very brave to deal with this and yet still be so cheerful. No wonder you were Sorted into Gryffindor.”

Barry positively beamed at that. Arthur could tell that meant the world to Barry. 

“So,” Barry said. “Why are you mad at your friends?”

Arthur sighed heavily and looked over at his friends. They noticed that he was looking over there and they not so subtly looked away hurriedly. Arthur turned back to Barry, who had a concerned look on his face.

“They did something that was not only embarrassing to me but also jeopardized the team’s chances at the Quidditch Cup.” Arthur realized he probably shouldn't have told Barry this. This wasn’t information he wanted public. “But I'd appreciate if you didn’t go spreading that around.”

“Your secret is safe with me” Barry said with a shy smile. “What did they do that was so embarrassing, if you don’t mind me asking?”  
Arthur blushed a little. “They followed someone I liked around today to find out if he liked me or not. How they did that while still attending class is beyond me. But now they’ve probably ruined my chances with him and I really liked him.”

“Well why would anyone ever say no to you? You’re Arthur Pendragon.” Arthur gave Barry an appraising look at that. “Not that I’m attracted to you! I actually have a crush on someone myself. Her name is Kara. She’s in our House and she’s in most of my classes. I try to talk to her but the whole social anxiety thing makes it hard. I don’t know what I’d say to her.” Barry looked over sadly to where Kara was sitting with her friends. 

“Well then, Barry, maybe one of our problems can be fixed. How about I give you a little souvenir from the Head Captain himself. You know, provided we aren't disqualified. I’m sure she'll be astounded to hear that you're friends with a Head Captain. I know, I’ll give you a Snitch with my name signed on it, in Permanent Ink!”

Barry looked back at him, with such joy and hope. 

“You consider me a friend?” 

“Yeah you’re pretty cool,” Arthur replied. “Besides, I need some friends from people in other years.”

“Ahem.” The sound came from the Headmaster who stood at the podium. 

“I hope you all had a wonderful dinner,” he said in that gravelly voice of his. “There is not much news for me to share with you. But there is one issue I must address. I know that Quidditch is one of our most competitive and interactive activities at Hogwarts. HOWEVER, poaching players is not something that is tolerated. It has come to my attention that an accusation of a Quidditch team approaching another member of a team. If this is true, then the offending team WILL be disqualified. If not, I ask the Head Captain of the team come and talk to me about the true intent of what has transpired. That is all.”

Everyone got up from the tables and moved to exit the Grand Hall. Arthur knew that he had to go talk to the Headmaster. He had to clear this up with Professor Kilgharrah right away so his Quidditch team wouldn't be disbanded and to disappointing his father more. He departed from the table, saying a quick goodbye to Barry and passing right by his teammates. He was still very upset at them for getting him in this mess in the first place. He passed through the masses of people and headed up towards the Headmaster's corridor. He arrived at the door, took a breath, and entered. gargoyle that stood watch in front of the door. The gargoyle turned and stared at Arthur.

“Password?” it requested.

“Lady of the Lake,” Arthur said clearly. 

The gargoyle crawled away in a way that stone monster should not move and granted Arthur passage to the door. Arthur opened the door and and walked up the stairway to the door that led into the Headmaster’s Chamber.

“Arthur,” Kilgharrah said. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Arthur was sure that Professor Kilgharrah knew exactly what he was here for but he wasn’t about to call the Headmaster out on it, so he played along. Arthur cleared his throat and spoke. 

“I wanted to talk to you about the announcement you made at supper. I know it was my team that made it seem like we were attempting to take a player but it wasn't like that!” Arthur’s voice became louder and more animated. He started speaking faster. “You see, my team, they're really nosy, and they knew that I liked this person on the Slytherin team, and they took it upon themselves to pester and badger him and I guess it got out of hand and I’m sorry, I'll take any punishment you’re willing to give, but please leave my team out of it, and just let us compe-”

“Arthur!” Kilgharrah said in an almost forceful tone. “Thank you for your honesty but based on your explanation I do not believe that a punishment is in order. I do suggest that you explain the situation to Mr. Emrys yourself, however.”

“Do I have to tell Cenred too,” muttered Arthur sullenly.

“Ah, I will summarize the situation to Mr. Cenred myself. I do think it would be beneficial for everyone involved that we keep you from crossing paths too often.”

“Thank you, Professor Kilgharrah!” Arthur thanked with much fervor. “Err, is that all, sir?”

“Yes Arthur, you may go. Thank you so much for being honest with me. I would ordinarily reward points for exemplifying such traits that represents your House but given the situation, I will just take 5 points from Gryffindor and we’ll call it a punishment, shall we?”

“Oh, of course, sir!” Arthur said. He didn't care so much about points. He was just relieved that his team could go on competing. He began leaving the room when Kilgharrah called  
his name again.

“One more thing before you leave, Mr. Pendragon. Next time could you handle your affections in a more….private way? I would prefer student drama not become a school announcement lest we become….what do those Muggles call it? Like a reality TV show.”

Arthur blushed before murmuring “yes sir” and exited the room. He was so happy he wasn't facing any serious repercussions. He rushed off to the Quidditch field, excited that he could continue competing but still upset about what his teammates did.

 

~

 

Flying through the air always made Arthur feel better. Despite the way the day had started off, he was glad it could end on such a positive note. He rushed through the air and flew around the dormitories of the Hufflepuff House. He saw people looking at him, but he didn’t care. Being a Head Captain had its privileges anyways. As long as he was under the pretense of “practicing” for the team, Arthur could stay out as long as he wanted. Most of the time, he was out revising and practicing new strategies, but there were few times he was out here just flying around, trying to clear his mind. 

“Bit close there, don’t you think?” came a voice from behind him. 

Arthur, not expecting anyone to be outside at this time (and certainly not so high), was quite startled (and ACTUALLY sure he physically fell off his broom) and attempted to right himself. 

“Jesus fucking Christ, do you ever just appear in front of anyone like a normal person?!” Arthur said quite angrily.

He turned around to face Merlin and the anger almost rolled off immediately. Merlin had an alarmed expression, concern all over his face. 

“I'm so sorry,” Merlin started apologizing profusely. “I had no idea-I thought you weren't gonna fall, or that you’d just right yourself, you’re an amazing flyer usually, I didn’t think--” 

“Uhh, it’s okay, Merlin.” Arthur said, finding it slightly weird that he was reassuring Merlin after HE had the near death experience, not Merlin. “Just….blimey mate, maybe greet like an actual person next time?”

“Ahh, but that would ruin my mysterious thing that I’ve got going on right now.”

“Yeah but it may end up killing me,” Arthur muttered. “What are you doing out here right now anyways? How did you even get out here without getting caught?”

“I have my ways,” Merlin answered cryptically. Arthur rolled his eyes. “Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something. It's a bit weird and I wanted to make sure I got you on your own.”

“What did you want to talk to me about,” Arthur asked, fearing what the question might be.

“Why was your team following me around the whole day? I thought it was really weird. Cenred noticed it too, and asked me about and I said I noticed them kind of tracking me around all day, but I didn't really think nothing of it. Cenred seems to think it’s all a big conspiracy for your team to kidnap me.” Merlin rolled his eyes at that. “Really, the things  
he thinks. How would that even work, I’m not even in the same House.”

“Uhh, I’m not exactly sure why my team was bothering you but I’m so sorry and I promise they won’t do it again.”

Merlin stared at Arthur with a small tilt of his head. “I think you do now why they were,” he said. “And I think I shall have my answer soon. Don’t you think so?”  
And with that, Merlin walked back inside the castle leaving Arthur dazed and confused, his heart beating rapidly. His pants felt a bit too tight and even though he had been flying all night, he found himself suddenly breathless.


End file.
